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Part I 
Gog- and Mis Def&a 




Bf Rev, D, W. Latigelett 



The World -War 
In the Light of Prophecy 

PART I 
GOG AND HIS DEFEAT 

Ezekiel 38 and 39 

Evidences that England is the Gog of Prophecy and 
is Therefore Doomed to be Defeated 

PROVEN BY 

REV. D. W. LANGELETT 

LUZERNE, IOWA 

English Translation by Andreas Bard 



Published for the Author 



1915 

THE GERMAN LITERARY BOARD 
BURLINGTON. IOWA 



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COPYRIGHT 1915 

By PASTOR D. W. I,ANGEI,ETT 

IvUZERNE, IOWA 




m 20 1915 © 



CI.A411167 



1/3 



PREFACE 

While I am far from offering any apology for 
the publication of this little volume, I desire to 
preface it with a few explanatory remarks. 

I had asked the Lord, even fifteen years ago, 
that I might live to see the day, when the great 
whore, who with her fornication had corrupted 
the whole world, would receive her punishment. 
But I never dreamed that I should be the author 
of this book. Nor did I conceive the idea after 
the actual declaration of war. I merely wrote 
a brief article for the press calling attention to 
certain prophecies in Ezekiel, Daniel and the 
book of Revelation, with the particular object 
of warning the small remnant of God's people in 
England of the approaching doom. 

All the while I entertained the hope that writ- 
ers who might do this work with less effort and 
greater success would come to the front. But 
although the gentlemen of the press informed me 
that they had read my contribution with much 
interest, they declined to accept it for publica- 
tion. My fellow-ministers with whom I had dis- 
cussed these prophecies were equally irrespon- 
sive. While not a single one of them could take 
issue with me, they did not seem to care to get 
the facts into the limelight. I am perfectly sat- 



isfied that there are men much abler than myself 
who might have presented the truth of this vol- 
ume, but the thought of it made them shake in 
their boots. When they saw England appearing 
in the form of the beast with the seven heads, 
they lost their nerve and made for safety. How- 
ever, it is of supreme importance that England 
should be universally known as the God-defying 
force to which the Bible refers. Only in this light 
will she be properly understood and receive the 
treatment she deserves. While I send out my 
message to the world, I feel satisfied that it con- 
tains naught save what God has revealed in His 
Word. Nor do I fear criticism and scorn, for 
the Lord Himself will shortly pass judgment. 
They who have been overpowered by the Beast 
and do not know it, will rage against this book- 
let and find it full of folly, but the wise shall 
understand ( Dan. 12 :10 ) . Even though I accom- 
plish nothing but to stimulate some abler pen 
to do justice to this vital theme, I feel that I have 
carried my point. 

Thus I commend these lines into the hands of 
God, the Saviour who can so control the wicked- 
ness of this v/orld that it will effect the glorifi- 
cation of His name and the salvation of man. 
May it please Him to bless these pages ! 

D. W. Langelett. 
Luzerne, lotva, March 26, 1915. 



INTRODUCTORY 

The glorification of God is the beginning, the 
end and the central theme of creation. God be- 
ing perfect, nothing but perfection can proceed 
from Him and whatever He does reveals to His 
creatures His infinite glory. The visible and in- 
visible alike proclaim His grandeur. Inasmuch 
as the gigantic structure of the universe shows 
forth not only His majesty and might, but His 
kindness and love, it also is a manifestation of 
His glory. 

That the salvation of man must also serve to 
glorify God seems, therefore, but natural. We 
cannot accept any religious system teaching a 
way of salvation which does not glorify God. 
And since human logic has never been able to 
detect a scheme of salvation save that of pleas- 
ing God by good works, we are compelled to 
reject it because by giving honor to the merit of 
man, it does not serve to glorify God. It is quite 
impossible that human reason should discover 
a way of salvation truly reaching the goal. 

If man is to be saved, God must point the way 
and reveal to us, how after leaving God through 
our sins, we may again return to Him, the foun- 
tain of peace and harmony. And this God has 
done; He has shown us a way of salvation by 
which His glory, His infinite love toward the 



fallen race, is made wonderfully clear. Christ 
is tlie way. To believe in Him as the mediator, 
to find life in His atoning death, this is salva- 
tion. Through faith in Christ man again be- 
comes a child of God and is made an heir of life 
everlasting. He again enters into fellowship 
with God which he lost through the sin of diso- 
bedience, of unbelief and lack of trust. 

But God has not merely found and revealed a 
way by which man can return to the truth, but 
He has made all kinds of preparations to guard 
him against the delusions of unbelief and to keep 
him in communion with Himself. That we 
should know God, God has given us His Word, 
the Holy Bible. The Bible is a letter of God 
addressed to His prodigal sons and daughters, 
who are astray in the wilderness of this world 
and whose reason has grown so dark through sin 
that they know neither God nor themselves. To 
them God sends a letter through His prophets 
and apostles in which He tells them of His fath- 
erly love and of His attitude toward those who 
left the parental home. And He also tells them 
of their own condition, their disobedience and 
wickedness in preferring the world and the devil 
to the true light. Thus they have become ene- 
mies of God. Finally He assures them that, 
though they acted shamefully toward their Cre- 
ator and thereby deserved to be rejected and 
driven out, yet, in His mercy, He will forgive 
and receive them back. God does not desire their 
death, but tries to save them against themselves. 
He wants them to turn from their wickedness 

6 



and live. Aye, to this end He did not spare His 
only Son who on their account was incarnated 
into a human body, and by His suffering and 
death redeemed them from the pangs of eternal 
death. And this love, all love excelling, is pre- 
sented to man in God's letter, ever urging him 
to accept divine grace and to return to the fath- 
erhouse. 

But should man refuse to be terrified by the 
presentation of the law which embodies God's 
just and holy will, and should he fail to be at- 
tracted by the Gospel, revealing the wondrous 
love of God, then the heavenly Father applies 
the rod of chastisement and by His judgments 
in the world's history drives home the truth that 
sin is man's ruin, both temporal and eternal, 
thus compelling us to seek life and salvation in 
Him. These divine judgments, while a just pun- 
ishment for the ungodly, are for those who es- 
cape a solemn warning to turn from evil ways 
and to repent of their sins. Individuals and 
communities, nations and countries, have exper- 
ienced such chastisements which, if they fail to 
accomplish their purpose, will be followed by the 
judgment of the whole world. Among God's 
visitations we especially point toward the deluge, 
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, and the 
siege of Jerusalem. But the world's history is 
full of similar events. All of them are symbols 
warning posterity that God frowns on the ways 
of wickedness and that the carcass of sin will 
attract the eagles of judgment. 

We have not the slightest doubt that the pres- 

7 



ent European war is a manifestation of the 
wrath of God. It is not due to an error in dip- 
lomacy. How foolish to argue as to which ruler 
or diplomat really caused it. In a measure not 
only all rulers, but all peoples involved in the 
struggle, aye, to some extent every nation on 
earth is responsible for the horrible catastrophe, 
j^one can say: I am innocent of this war and 
therefor suffer innocently of its consequences. 
The war is a judgment of God, including all man- 
kind, and a direct result of infidelity. It is pun- 
ishment for Christians who have deserted the 
faith or who have failed to live up to its pre- 
cepts; punishment also for non- Christians be- 
cause they refused to hear the voice of truth. 
Again God demonstrates through the terrors of 
this war that sin is the downfall of man, jeop- 
ardizing first of all his temporal welfare and 
eventually ruining the souls of those who fail to 
repent. 

There is no need to discuss the maker of the 
war, because God has explicitly named the mal- 
efactor through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel 
(chapters 38-39), whose prophecy, uttered some 
2500 years ago, reveals the entire plot. This 
fact should convince the heathen that the God 
of the Bible knows all things and that from Him 
no secrets are hid. Prophecy also tells us of the 
end of the war. The people that dwell in the 
midst of the land (Ezek. 38:12) shall conquer 
the enemies of God. Just as Jehovah, when 
leading his chosen people out of Egypt's bond- 
age, allowed Pharaoh to wax strong, that by 

8 



crushing liim He miglit make manifest to Israel 
that He alone was the true God, so now, when 
prophecy points to the time when the house of 
Jacob shall be gathered from among all nations, 
He has permitted ungodly powers to rise, that 
their humiliation in the presence of heathen and 
Jew may serve the glorification of His name. 
The final purpose, even of this bloody event, is 
not only the salvation of man, but the honor and 
glorification of God. After the house of Jacob 
has been regathered, then it will sing according 
to Christ's prophecy : "Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 23:39.) 
Until then we shall have to witness the condition 
which Jesus portrayed (Matthew 23:38) : "Be- 
hold, your house is left unto you desolate!" 
Especially on account of the Jews, God has given 
such an accurate description of the ungodly pow- 
ers which shall rise against the people that live 
in the midst of the land. He desires to convince 
them that His prophecies, pronounced with 
equal clearness in the writings of the Old Testa- 
ment, Ezekiel and Daniel, and in the ISTew Test- 
ament through the apostle John, bear the same 
stamp of truthfulness and emanate from the same 
source of light. While the picture of these evil 
forces is put in different frames by the different 
writers, its essential features absolutely harmo- 
nize with each other, even in details. This 
should prove to Israel that the same God who 
spoke to Moses and the prophets also sent His 
Son Jesus Christ and continued His message 
throughout the New Testament. 

9 



Tlie scriptural passages we bear in mind are 
found in the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel, 
also in Daniel 7:24-27; 11:36-12:1,11,12, and 
Revelation, chapters 12-20. The references in 
Ezekiel should be considered first, because this 
prophet names even the allies of the unholy 
power. If this passage is properly understood, 
we can use it as a clew to the others. Almost 
all scholars agree that this prophecy has not as 
yet been fulfilled in the history of Israel. Just 
as Ezekiel promises the gathering of the Jews 
as a sequel to the downfall of Gog and also 
prophesies for the church of God a blessed period 
on the earth, so Daniel predicts this era as a 
result of the destruction of the great horn (7 :27) 
and ( chapter 12 : 1, 7, 11, 12 ) after the ungodly 
king who shall plant the tabernacles of his pal- 
ace between the seas, has come to an end. John, 
too, in Revelation (chapter 20) tells of this 
blessed era and characterizes it as a period of a 
thousand years. But it shall not arrive until 
after the great city which has dominion over the 
kings of the earth has been judged and burned 
and after the beast with seven heads which car- 
ries on its back the great whore, has been utterly 
abolished. If thus Ezekiel, Daniel and John in 
these passages speak of the same golden age, it 
follows that the events leading up to it, must 
happen about the same time and in a measure, 
be identical. Once convinced that Ezekiel 38 
and 39 refer to the present world-war, we cannot 
but conclude that the other references, too, are 
in course of fulfillment ; we simply have to make 

10 



sure which is the Power of Evil called the great 
horn (Dan. 7:24), the godless king (Dan. 11:36- 
45 ) , and the beast with seven heads in the book 
of Revelation. 



11 



CONTENTS 



PAGK 



I. Connecting Ezekiel 38 and 39 witli 

Preceding and Following Chapters 15 

II. Ezekiel Predicts Only One Defeat 

for Gog 19 

III. Gog . 23 

IV. The Land of Israel 41 

V. Gog on the Warpath .... 54 

VI. The Purpose of God .... 77 

Postscript 112 



13 



CONNECTING EZEKIEL 38 AND 39 WITH 

PRECEDING AND FOLLOWING 

CHAPTERS 

The theme which Ezekiel treats in his proph- 
ecies might be aptly summed up in the words of 
Hosea: ^'O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; 
but in me is thine help" (13 :9). This theme he 
expounds by showing on the one hand, how sin 
is the cause of human downfall and how, on the 
other hand, God will and can help those who seek 
help and salvation in Him and solely rely upon 
His succor. 

The first chapter is merely introductory to 
succeeding interpretations of this general theme. 
If biblical scholars would view it in this light, 
they would have no difftculty in analyzing cor- 
rectly the striking pictures contained therein 
and discover their profound significance. In the 
second chapter the prophet announces his pro- 
phetic mission. In the remaining chapters he 
fulfills this mission by interpreting the message 
entrusted to him. Dealing with his subject, he 
observes a fine chronological order, not by 
arranging his prophecies as he receives them, 
but by grouping them according to their contents 
and the time of fulfillment. 

15 



He proves by the condition of Jerusalem and 
thie Jews that sin means degeneration and death 
and denounces the thought that a mere external 
connection with Israel justifies people in doing 
what they please; churchmembership is not all 
that is required. Because of this erroneous view 
God will punish the Jews, (chapters 3 to 24). 
These prophecies have been fulfilled by the Baby- 
lonian captivity of Israel and also by the de- 
struction of Jerusalem. The prophecies against 
the unworthy shepherds of the flock, the watch- 
men that fail to give warning (chapters 33 and 
34), also apply more jDarticularly to the Jews in 
the time of Christ. However, he cautions the 
enemies of God's people against any undue re- 
joicing on their part over the misfortune of 
Israel. He would guard them against the error 
that to belong to God's people is a matter of little 
worth. For, though they may create havoc 
among the Israelites and in this serve as tools of 
a punishing Providence, they are most surely not 
exempt from the judgment of God which, when 
it strikes Jehovah's enemies, means their utter 
extermination. This thought is given promi- 
nence in the prophecies against the Ammonites, 
Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, Tyre and Sidon 
and Egypt (chapters 25 to 32 and 35). Not 
without significance. For what God has done 
to the Jews and heathen of the Old Testament, 
He will continue to do during the new dispen- 
sation to the Christians and their foes. If Israel 
of the new covenant will be untrue to their trust, 
they shall be chastised and placed under the do- 

16 



minion of Gog. But inasmuch, as Gog's wicked- 
ness is colossal, he, too, shall be visited with the 
judgments of God. 

The second part of this theme is presented 
with the dual aspect that while punishment is 
prophesied for the wicked, promises are made 
to those who turn from their evil ways. The rod 
of chastisement is placed alongside of the apples 
of reward. Especially in chapters 17 :22-24 ; 34 : 
9-31, and chapters 36-48, Ezekiel emphasizes 
God's burning desire to help those who do not 
willfully reject the chance of salvation. In 
chapter 17 : 22-24, he announces that the Lord 
will even have mercy on the whole world by giv- 
ing a kingdom to the Messiah and by subjecting 
to Him all the nations of the earth. Chapter 34 : 
9-34 reveals God's desire to help the lost and the 
broken-hearted. His purpose to replace unreli- 
able shepherds with the good shepherd who will 
feed His flock in green pastures. Chapters 36- 
48 contain prophecies of spiritual and material 
blessings, giving a description of New Testament 
times, especially of the period which John pic- 
tures in the 20th chapter of Revelation as an era 
comprising a thousand years. This millennium 
begins with the downfall of Gog and a general 
conversion of heathen and Jews. While chap- 
ters 38 and 39 indicate the defeat of Gog who 
with a mighty army marches against the people 
of God, they also prophesy a striking revelation 
of the strong arm of God in behalf of the right- 
eous. This is particularly true of the last lines 
of chapter 39. The defeat of Gog has the pur- 

17 



pose of convincing Jews, heathen and Christians 
that God does not merely wish to help, but that 
He can do so, no matter how large the number 
of his enemies and how strong their might. 
Furthermore they are to learn that, though for 
a time they may be given over to their foes, as 
in the case of Jerusalem and Judah being dom- 
inated by Nebuchadnezzar or the people that 
dwell in the midst of the land being controlled 
by Gog, this condition is not a mere accident. 
Nor does it indicate that the Lord is not a very 
present help in trouble. It simply shows that 
God has turned His gracious countenance away 
from those who have gone astray. But, verily, 
if they turn from their wickedness and repent. 
He will speedily and mightily deliver them from 
all their enemies. 



18 



II. 

EZEKIEL PREDICTS ONLY ONE DEFEAT 
FOR GOG 

The hostilities of Gog and his defeat are de- 
scribed in chapters 38 and 39. Since a number 
of biblical scholars have contended that Ezekiel 
in these passages speaks of two distinctive cam- 
paigns and routs of Gog, it seems well for the 
correct analysis of this prophecy to furnish proof 
that only one warfare and its utter collapse is 
here presented. 

There is no question that the Bible knows of 
two common defeats of Gog and Magog. After 
the first the Jews mil return to Palestine and 
the millennium, mentioned by John in the book 
of Revelation, will be established on the earth 
(39:25). However, at the end of the millen- 
nium Satan will again assemble the hosts of Gog 
and Magog (Rev. 20:8), who while warring 
against the saints of God, shall be devoured by 
a fire from heaven. Thus there are two distinct 
defeats for these powers of evil, one at the be- 
ginning and one at the end of the millennium. 
The first is foreshadowed by Ezekiel (chapters 
38 and 39), the second by John (Rev. 20). 

The scholars who hold that Ezekiel speaks of 
two defeats of Gog claim that the first is men- 

19 



tioned in cliapter 39, the second in chapter 38. 
This theory they substantiate by referring to 
chapter 38 :8 and chapter 39 :25. We give the 
first quotation : "After many days thou shalt be 
visited; in the latter years thou shalt come into 
the land that is brought back from the sword, 
and is gathered out of many people, against the 
mountains of Israel, which have always been 
waste : but it is brought forth out of the nations, 
and they shall dwell safely all of them." This 
they interpret as referring to the return to Pal- 
estine of Israel which according to chapter 39 : 
25 is to follow the defeat of Gog. The prophet 
says : "Now ( after the Jews have been chastised 
for their transgressions and Gog has been de- 
feated) I will bring again the captivity of Jacob, 
and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel." 
From this passage scholars have drawn the con- 
clusion that Ezekiel in chapter 39 was speaking 
of the first defeat of Gog which is also mentioned 
in the 19th chapter of Revelation, while the sec- 
ond defeat which according to Rev. 20, Gog and 
Magog must suffer at the end of the millennium 
was prophesied in chapter 38. However, this 
interpretation entirely overlooks the fact that 
the 38th chapter expressly speaks of Gog as be- 
ing the chief prince in the land of Magog, while 
St. John co-ordinates these powers as two dis- 
tinct and independent forces of evil. The term 
"after many days" is made to signify the thou- 
sand years of Revelation and the phrase "in the 
latter years" the era following the millennium. 
This attempt to clear the difficulty of the proph- 

20 



ecy is not only futile, but foolish. For certain 
it is that if Gog is to be defeated on the hills of 
Palestine he must first occupy these hills. If 
it is claimed that Ezekiel speaks of two defeats 
of Gog and if it is further claimed that "the 
mountains of Israel" are synonymous with Pal- 
estine, then it must be admitted also that Gog 
is twice routed by the Jews in Palestine, for "the 
mountains of Israel" are repeatedly mentioned 
not only in chapter 38, but also in chapter 39 : 
"I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel" 
(verse 2), "thou shalt fall upon the mountains 
of Israel" (verse 4), "and they that dwell in the 
cities of Israel shall go forth" ( verse 9 ) . As long 
as the Jews are scattered over all the earth, they 
can neither meet nor defeat a formidable enemy 
in Palestine. Zechariah (chapter 14:14) proph- 
esies that "Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem" 
and join the enemies of Israel. Thus innumerable 
difficulties are encountered by those who inter- 
pret "the mountains of Israel" as meaning the 
land of Palestine, no matter whether Ezekiel 
speaks of one or two defeats. 

However, there is no compelling reason to 
assume that Ezekiel predicts two campaigns and 
routs of Gog. The prophet writing during the 
old dispensation was much more apt to apply 
the term "in the latter years" to the time of the 
New Testament and the term "after many days" 
to the period commencing with his own age to 
the beginning of the war of the world. The isTew 
Testament not infrequently refers to the time 
following Christ as to the latter years. 

21 



That Ezekiel receives a second command from 
the Lord to prophesy against Gog, (39:1) does 
not necessarily mean a new prophecy or a new 
event. This second command merely corrobo- 
rates what God says in the preceding chapter 
(38:19) : "for in my jealousy and in the fire of 
my wrath have I spoken." The repetition proves 
the holy intensity of God regarding this purpose. 

The two chapters are closely related. Chap- 
ter 38 describes the mobilization of Gog's army 
and points out his evil designs. His defeat is 
merely indicated. Chapter 39 relates the details 
of this defeat and at the same time interprets its 
meaning. It shows why God permitted Gog's 
supremacy, using it as a stepping-stone for the 
final redemption of His people. Separated the 
two chapters remain fragmentary and obscure. 
Together they form a harmonious whole. 



22 



III. 

GOG 

Gog is named as the cMef foe and enemy of 
the people of God. Who is Gog? Is he a per- 
son, a people or an empire? 

Ezekiel defines him (chapter 38:1-6) : "And 
the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Son 
of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of 
Magog, the chief prince of Meshesch and Tubal, 
and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith 
the Lord God : Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, 
the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal : And I 
will turn thee back, and put hooks in thy jaws, 
and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, 
horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with 
all sorts of armour, even a great company with 
bucklers and shields, and all of them handling 
sAvords ; Persia, Ethiopia and Libya with them ; 
all of them with shield and helmet : Gomer and 
all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the 
north quarters, and all of his bands ; and many 
people with them." The Lord Jehovah gives 
command to his prophet to turn against Gog 
with burning words of prophecy. The terrible 
judgment, here predicted, shall fall on the head 
of Gog. God himself will enter the arena 
against him. In order to fully grasp the signi- 

23 



ficance of this event, it is essential that we should 
know who Gog is. 

Here again we meet diverse opinions. Some 
have one theory, others another and there is a 
goodly number of scholars who do not even ven- 
ture a guess. Note that Gog is minutely de- 
scribed and clearly defined. He is said to come 
up from the north parts and also that he dwells 
carelessly in the isles (39:6). He leads a num- 
ber of nations, a large percentage of whom are 
Japhethites. But since we have had such inad- 
equate information concerning the whereabout 
of these Japhethite tribes, we can only now, in 
the light of the prophecy being fulfilled, get some 
kind of an idea of their character. 

Who is Gog? Ezekiel describes him as going 
to war against the house of Israel with an army 
of gigantic size. This means that he is either 
a mighty king or a great empire. That he can 
not be an individual ruler we gather from the 
fact that John in Revelation predicts that he 
will, after the millennium, form an alliance with 
Magog and resume the unholy war. He is there- 
for not a person, but a world-power. Nor is Gog 
a single nation. If he were, he would have been 
mentioned in the tenth chapter of Genesis.* In 



*We cannot prove any connection between this name 
and Gog, the Rubenite (1 Chron. 6:4), aUhough the fact 
that Ezekiel (39:18) also mentions fatlings of Bashan 
recalls the English tradition that the ten tribes were lo- 
cated in England. Bashan, once the kingdom of Og, the 
Amorite, was located on the eastern shore of the lake 
Tiberias and became afterwards a part of the tribe of 
Manasseh. The eastern portion of this country touched 
the land of Ruben and was very fertile. The cattle of 

24 



Chron. 6:4 we run across the name Gog as be- 
longing to the Riibenites. But since no prophet 
indicates that any of the ten tribes are to par- 
take in Gog's campaign, we should not confound 
this Gog with the Gog in Ezekiel. But Zech- 
ariah states explicitly that the Jews will battle 
against Jerusalem (Zech. 14:14). There is no 
further reference to Gog in the entire Bible and 
neither the Old nor the New Testaments know 
a nation having that name. Ezekiel tells us that 
Gog dwells in the land of Magog and is the chief 
prince of Meshech and Tubal. This forces the 
conclusion that Gog is a vast empire composed 
not of one, but of many nations, dominating Ma- 
gog and controlling Meshech and Tubal. 

That Gog is a fictitious name is also made 
clear in Ezek. 38 :17 : 'Thus saith the Lord God ; 
Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time 
by my servants the prophets of Israel, which 
prophesied in those days many years that I 
would bring thee against them?" This proves 
that Gog is not the real name of the empire 
which is to rise against the Lord. If the name 
Gog were not fictitious, this verse would contain 
a platitude as stale as the remark : Thou Jacob 
art Jacob. The true meaning of the passage is 
this: When the prophecy will be fulfilled, the 



Bashan was known to be the best. We gather from 1 
Chron. 6:8-10 that the very Rubenites who owned Gog 
pastured their cattle in eastern Bashan. By naming the 
fatlings of Bashan and Gog together, the prophet refers 
to these Rubenites. Just like England, the modern Gog, 
so the old Gog enjoyed the fatness of the land. Beyond 
this we cannot trace any connection between the two. 

25 



Lord will make known through His servants and 
through His church the real character of Gog. 
The Satanic empire may have a new name, but 
it will be recognized. As we open the pages of 
the ancient prophecy, we can trace every line of 
its treacherous physiognomy. Ezekiel draws 
its dark picture with unerring pencil and puts 
it into the light of God's countenance. 

We may ask, why God failed to give this em- 
pire its real name. Because this empire did not 
exist at the time of the prophecy and received its 
name centuries later. Moreover, if the real 
name had been given, the prophecy would not 
have been fulfilled. No empire would ever have 
called itself Gog. This holds true of all prophe- 
cies. In Rev. 13 :18 John refrains from giving a 
name to the beast but merely says that his num- 
ber is six hundred three score and six. Since 
the beast had no existence during the time of 
John and did not adopt its present name until 
the ninth century, the prophecy was sealed to 
the church before that time. Not otherwise we 
are told in Revelation of the great empire as a 
beast with seven heads. Daniel saw it as the 
little horn on the head of the fourth beast be- 
fore whom there were three of the first horns 
plucked up by the roots. The cause of this 
mysterious allusion is clearly stated (Daniel 
12:4) : "But thou, Daniel, shut up the w^ords, 
and seal the book, even to the time of the 
end, many shall run to and fro and knowledge 
shall be increased." For this reason Daniel has 
so worded his prophecies that those which have 

26 



not as yet been fulfilled are even now a sealed 
book to us. The same principle applies to Ezek- 
iel's predictions concerning the world empire to 
which he gives a fictitious name, until history 
will reveal the fulfillment of the prophecy. 

Now the onlj^ way to ascertain which of the 
belligerent nations resembles Gog is to trace the 
prophetic outline down to modern times. In a 
general way the description fits England and 
Russia who now fight side by side against Ger- 
many and Austria. It may be said of Russia as 
well as of England that they "come up from the 
north parts/' but only of England that ''they 
dwell carelessly in the isles" (39 :6) . Of both it 
might be said that they are at the head of the 
peoples mentioned by the prophet, but to Eng- 
land only applies the prophecy that it rules in 
the land of Magog and that it is chief prince of 
Meshech and Tubal. 

We desire to shoAv first that all nations men- 
tioned in the prophecy are fighting on the side of 
the allies, and secondly, that England by assum- 
ing the leading role amongst them, appears in 
the character of Gog. 

Ezekiel tells us that Gog was in the land of 
Magog. Revelation, on the other hand, pictures 
Gog and Magog as allies. This means that while 
during the first war Gog is ruler over Magog and 
holds his territory as a part of his empire, in the 
second war they will be two distinct and inde- 
pendent powers, but animated by the same 
treachery and co-operating toward the same end. 

Magog in Gen. 10 :2 is named as the second son 

27 



of Japheth. The land of Magog is therefore the 
territory occupied by the descendants of Japh- 
eth. Is there anything known concerning these 
descendants? Hieronym says: ''Magog repre- 
sents the Scythians, those numerous tribes who 
live north of the Caucasus and east of the Cas- 
pian Sea as far as India." Josephus agrees with 
Hieronym, but Suidas avers that Magog are the 
Persians. Winer (Real W. 2:46) observes that 
''in a general way Scythians may be defined as 
the aggregate of barbarian tribes of the North, 
more or less unknown." Arabs and Syrians, 
when speaking of Magog, had in mind the peo- 
ple called Scythians, Avho lived north of India. 
All of these sources agree that Magog's dwelling 
place was East, Southeast and Northeast of the 
Caspian Sea. The Scythians, mentioned here, 
are not the European tribes, more frequently 
called Sarmatians, but an Asiatic people by that 
name. Suidas' theory that Magog means Persia 
is not incompatible with but rather complemen- 
tal to the reports of Josephus and St. Hieronym. 
Nor are we to be misled by the statement of 
verse 5 that the Persians fought as the allies of 
Gog. The great Persian empire consisted of in- 
numerable tribes and during the period of its 
highest development ruled over Parthia, Bactri- 
ana, Sogdiana and Massagethia. If Suidas 
speaks of Magog as representing Persia he, no 
doubt, thinks solely of the provinces mentioned. 
The original Persians are a people largely Sem- 
itic. Two of their provinces, Susiana proper 
with the capital of Susa, and Elymais near the 

28 



Persian Gulf were called the land of Elam, after 
Elam, the oldest son of Shem (Dan. 8:2). The 
fact that the Persians living in the first named 
provinces had a higher civilization than the Scy- 
thians living further north, is no evidence of 
their different origin. According to the most 
ancient traditions the region between India and 
the Caspian Sea was occupied originally by the 
Eastern Aryans and peopled by the descendants 
of Magog, whom we, therefore, consider the pat- 
riarch of the Aryan tribes. 

Today we find but few of his descendants 
in this locality. They have settled in India as 
far as we are able to trace their whereabouts. 
The native myths of the Hindoos concur in 
this respect with the final conclusions of scien- 
tific research (Standard Encyclopedia) : ''At 
least a thousand years B. C. — probably much 
more, perhaps fifteen hu^ndred — an Aryan race 
from Central Asia descended across the western 
Himalayas into northern India through the 
northwest corner, and gradually spread over the 
whole country. They were ethnologically of the 
Caucasian or Indo-Germanic type, with fair com- 
plexion, straight profile, lofty brow, compressed 
mouth, tall stature. They received the name 
Hindu from Hind, that quarter which they first 
overran" (XIV, 259). 

Again in the first century before and the first 
century after Christ, Scythians migrated into 
India, settling in the northwest corner of that 
territory which they conquered and ruled for 
more than 500 years. Of their kings it was said 

29 



that they were zealous followers of Buddhism, 
Buddha himself being one of their descendants. 
It is also claimed that the four and a half mil- 
lion Jats, and the ten million Rajputes in Raj- 
putana are among their descendants. The lat- 
ter are even today a proud and aristocratic peo- 
ple, many native rulers having been selected 
from their ranks. (Standard Encyclopedia, 
XXI, 14). 

The caste system strongly prevalent among 
the Hindus has kept them from mingling with 
other nations. Thus the Indian Aryans are not 
a mixed people as are the Persians, composed of 
Semites and Japhethites. Of India's entire pop- 
ulation, numbering 336,000,000, there are more 
than 261,000,000 of Aryan descent. Philological 
researches seem to prove that besides the Hin- 
doos only certain Kaffirs and the gypsies scat- 
tered throughout the world can be traced to the 
same origin. 

All these investigations concerning the where- 
abouts of the descendants of Magog disclose the 
fact that their original home is now partly under 
Russian dominion, but a much larger portion, 
comprising almost twice the number of the 
Czar's subjects, is controlled by British rule. 
India is therefore undoubtedly the land of Ma- 
gog, and since it is under the dominion of Eng- 
land, England is the Gog* of Ezekiel's prophecy. 



*Gog means "roof," "high" or "mountain." Buech- 
ner's Concordance translates Magog "house, or some- 
thing that is covered." This well expresses England's 
relation to India. Compare also the name Gog with the 

30 



It is further said of Gog that he is '^chief 
prince" in Mesech and Tubal (verses 2 and 3). 
The word "Eos" has been commonly translated 
''chief" ("oberste" — Luther), although the Sep- 
tuagint treated it as the name of a nation. Some 
of the more modern scholars agree with the Sep- 
tuagint. Which version is correct? We find 
the word ''Ros" frequently in the Hebrew text, 
but only in one case it is used as a noun. We 
refer to Gen. 46:21, where a son of Benjamin is 
named Ros. But more than fifty times the same 
w^ord is used as signifying "chief." In Deuter- 
onomy (33 :15) it is translated "the chief things" 
of the ancient mountains; in the first book of 
Samuel (9:22) "the chiefest place." Since the 
Bible uses the word fifty times as signifying chief, 
we have no reason to choose a different transla- 
tion in the passage of Ezekiel where the mean- 
ing of the text would entirely justify its common 
use. In fact there are solid reasons why the 
current translation should be retained. It would 
be absurd to assume that Ezekiel was in any 
sense referring to Ros, the son of Benjamin, 
For Ros belonged to the house of Jacob, which 
was to be freed only after the defeat of Gog. He 
therefore was in bondage and could not be called 



old English idea of the King. Says Lamed (History of 
England): "They selected their kings from heroic fam- 
ilies whom they imagined to be descendants of the gods." 
This fact will partly explain the significance of the 
statues of Gog and Magog which since Henry V (1413) 
have been kept in the Guildhall ef London. Even in the 
17th century these gigantic figures were carried through 
the city at festal occasions. 

31 



a chief prince. No other Eos is mentioned in 
the Bible, nor does history know of any people 
by that name. Luther has given us the correct 
translation. Grog, who is lord in the land of 
Magog is also the chief prince of Meshech and 
Tubal. Gog rules among the princes. He pipes 
and they dance. 

Who are Meshech and Tubal? Concerning 
Meshech the critics agree. Meshech represents 
the Scythians, sometimes called Sarmathians, 
whose descendants are the Muscovites or Rus- 
sians. The Analytical Concordance to the Bible 
says : "The descendants of the son of Japheth 
are the Moschi or Mosochi." This is admitted 
even by those who hesitate to accept our deduc- 
tion as to the Russians. Hengstenberg translat- 
ing Psalm 120 :5 : ''Woe is me, that I sojourn in 
Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar," is 
puzzled by the combination of Meshech and Ke- 
dar. While he admits that Mesech are the Rus- 
sians, he wonders why they are mentioned in 
connection with Kedar which is a province in 
Arabia. Widely separated from each other, why 
should they be closely co-ordinated? He argues 
that the names are not used in their original 
meaning but merely in a symbolic sense, both 
people being of a warlike disposition and ene- 
mies of peace. Hengstenberg thus fails to rec- 
ognize the fact that this psalm is pre-eminently 
a prophecy concerning the suffering of the Jews 
among alien nations, among whom they were 
scattered after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 
A. D. ) . We find in it a biblical evidence of the 

32 



fact that Meshech are the Slav people, especially 
the Russians. No nation has so viciously robbed, 
maltreated and persecuted the Jews as the Rus- 
sians. Even in our modern era the Jews of 
Russia are accused by the government of having 
shed human blood for their sacrifices. This 
charge is made the cause of brutal massacres. 
And struck by the prophetic vision the psalmist 
denounces these lying lips and deceitful tongues, 
while as a representative of his people he bewails 
his fate. Thus public opinion and biblical 
prophecy concur that the Russians are the de- 
scendants of Meshech. 

This does not preclude the fact that the Tubal- 
ites, too, are a nation of Slavs. This is alto- 
gether probable. When the prophet mentions 
Meshech and Tubal together he indicates, even 
though he does not prove their relationship. Bo- 
chart, Michaelis, in fact all modern scholars fol- 
low the ancient writers Strabo, Pliny and Xen- 
ophon in interpreting Tubal (Gen. 10:2) as rep- 
resenting the Tibarenes, a people once located 
on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. Jo- 
sephus, on the other hand, speaks of the Iberenes 
who inhabited the southern slope of the Cauca- 
sus. "The Tibarenes, south of the Black Sea, 
and west of Colchis, whence they went to Spain, 
Sicily, etc." (Anal. Cone, to the Bible.) It 
seems that Iberenes and Tibarenes are two dif- 
ferent names for the same people. The general 
opinion of scholars solving the difficulty by re- 
ferring to the original dwelling place of this na- 
tion is probably correct. There is no doubt that 



among the present population of the Caucasus 
there is still a residue of their descendants. We 
know however that the Iberia which was located 
south of the Caucasus was little more than a 
geographical description with no relation to the 
names of the inhabitants. Since during the 
Persian era Tibarenes and Muscovites were 
closely allied in military and administrative re- 
spects, ( Herodotus 3 :94 ; 7 :78 ) , it seems proba- 
ble that that portion of the descendants of Tubal 
who in earliest times migrated to distant lands 
are still found among the Slav people of today. 
However we do not agree with Winer, when he 
says that Hieronym's theory tracing these peo- 
ple down to the Spaniards is altogether erron- 
eous. Winer tells us that the biblical Tarshish 
is the southwestern part of Spain. This is cor- 
rect. But Isaiah ( 60 :9 ) applies the name Tar- 
shish to Spain in her golden period, when the 
sun did not set in her possessions and the Span- 
ish monks went into distant colonies to convert 
heathen subjects to the Catholic faith. Luther, 
too, by substituting for the Hebrew words 
'^ships of Tarshish" the broader term ^^Meer- 
schiffe" ("ships of the sea"), seems to sub- 
stantiate this theory. The Spaniards in the 
biblical view are therefore essentially Javanites, 
for Tarshish was a son of Javan. But this 
again does not prove that the Iberians who in 
early times occupied central and afterwards 
northern Spain are not Tubalites. During later 
wars of conquest they were driven northward 
or into Portugal and partly exterminated. To- 

U 



day we find possibly in Portugal a considerable 
portion, in Spain perhaps a small residue of tbe 
descendants of the Iberians and these have long 
since intermingled with Celtic or Gothic blood. 
The only part of the population which has not 
mixed with other races is known as the Basques 
and resides on the boundary line between France 
and Spain. The characteristic features of these 
people prove their descent from the Tibarenes 
and Iberians, who used to inhabit the terri- 
tory southeast of the Black Sea. However it 
is clear that Ezekiel in his prophecy does not 
refer to these dispersed tribes. Nor is this 
necessary. For when the Romans conquered 
Gaul, a large part of Aquitania was a terri- 
tory, extending from the river Loire unto the 
Pyrenees, and was inhabited by the Iberians. 
In his famous work ("Pruefung der Unter- 
suchungen ueber die Urbewohner Hispaniens 
vermittelst der waskischen Sprache") W. von 
Humboldt has shown that the ancient Iber- 
ians were a people who early settled in Sic- 
ily, Sardinia, Corsica, Spain, Southwestern 
France and in the British Isles. Of these peo- 
ple the Basques, living on the boundary line 
between Spain and France, are the only tribe 
unmixed with other races. Humboldt's conclu- 
sions were at first applauded, later questioned, 
eventually substantiated by other investigations 
and are now generally accepted. Tubal, there- 
fore, represents the original inhabitants of the 
countries we mentioned. Of these countries 
Portugal and France by their treaties are under 

33 



British control and the others, more or less, un- 
der British influence. The same is true of Me- 
shech, the Slav empire. Through an agreement 
Russia is bound to England, while Servia and 
Roumania tacitly bow to British pressure. 

To sum up : The land of Magog is India. Gog, 
the ruler of India, (the land of Magog) is Eng- 
land. Gog is also chief prince among the rulers 
of Meshech and Tubal. Meshech are the Slavic 
races and Tubal the original inhabitants of Eng- 
land, France, Spain, Portugal and the Italian 
isles of Sicily and Sardinia, who have mixed 
their blood with the later immigrants of these 
countries. England controls them all either by 
''reaty or by influence. Thus England is the 
chief prince among the rulers of Meshech and 
Tubal. England is Gog of whom Ezekiel proph- 
esies. 

This is further corroborated by the fact that 
all the nations mentioned in the prophecy of 
Ezekiel are fighting on the side of the allies. 
Besides Meshech and Tubal Gog is leading Per- 
sians, Ethiopians and Libyans (38:5). The 
Persians are those Indian troops who dwell in 
Balutchistan and that part of India which for- 
merly belonged to Persia. Afghanistan and 
modern Persia, while under Russian and British 
influence, were not called upon to furnish troops. 
Ethiopians, too, are in this army. These Ethi- 
opians are descendants of Cush, the son of Ham 
(Gen. 10:6). They dwell in the land south of 
Egypt, known in the Bible as Ethiopia. "This 
is the word used by the Greeks and Romans for 

36 



the HebreAV name Cush. Ciisli was the son of 
Ham, and his descendants occupied the country 
to the south of Egypt, and comprehended in its 
widest sense, the modern Nubia, Sennar, Kor- 
dofan, and northern Abysinia, but in its more 
limited sense, only the kingdom of Meroe from 
the junction of the White and Blue branches of 
the Mle to the south border of Egypt. Syene 
was the division between both countries." (Anal. 
Cone, to the Bible.) The Libyans live west of 
Egypt. Ethiopians and Libyans are native 
troops fighting for England in Egypt. 

Regarding Gomer Winer makes the following 
observation : '^The majority of scholars think 
that Gomer means the Cimerians who were al- 
ready mentioned by Homer. The earliest his- 
torical records locate them north of the Black 
Sea and betw^een the rivers Tyras and Martis, 
perhaps also east of this region, in the Cherso- 
nesus taurica. They soon migrated into Asia 
Minor. In the seventh century before the Chris- 
tian era they were driven by the Scythians across 
the river Araxes. They devastated Libya. Still 
pursued by the Scythians, they did not settle 
there but roamed for a whole century through 
parts of Asia." (Winer's R. W., I, 438.) The 
Analytical Concordance may also be quoted in 
this connection : ''Gomer was progenitor of the 
Cimerians, Cimbri, and other branches of the 
Celtic family, as well as of the modern Gael and 
Cymry, the latter preserving the original name 
with slight variation. The people descended 
from Gomer settled on the north of the Black 

or" 
O ( 



Sea, and tKen spread themselves southward and 
westward to the extremities of Europe." After 
wandering through Asia Minor without settling 
anywhere they turned toward western Europe 
where they conquered the Iberians, part of whom 
were driven into Aquitania in southern France 
which was named Gaul. As early as 500 B. C. 
a Celtic branch migrated to Spain intermarry- 
ing with the Iberians. A little later some Celtic 
tribes, called the Gauls, moved into upper Italy. 
The Celts or Gauls who settled in France were 
divided into the two groups of the Cymeres and 
the Gadheles. The former dwelled partly in 
France and modern Belgium, partly in England 
where they were known as Britons. The Gad- 
heles did not remain long in France but moved 
to the British isles. They were either Caledon- 
ians or the ancestors of the modern Irish. In 
Schlosser's History of the World we find this ref- 
erence : "Although the Celtic branch spread out 
in many directions, it has been almost entirely 
exterminated. The Celtic people have been 
either annihilated or have mingled with other 
races. Only in western England, in the north- 
ern part of Scotland, in Ireland, Brittany and 
a small part of the Alps we trace pure Celtic 
stock. The inhabitants of Cornwall and Wales 
are direct descendants of the ancient Britons 
whose language still survives in the latter dis- 
trict. Closely related to them are the inhabi- 
tants of Lower Brittany who also use a Celtic 
dialect known as the Bas-Breton. Other rem- 
nants of these people can be found in Ireland and 

38 



among the Scots. The former have largely adop- 
ted the English tongue, while the latter still 
speak the Celtic language known as Gaelic." 
These facts furnish proof that the Gomer of our 
text is representing the Scots, the Irish, the Bel- 
gians and a part of the French and the Gauls of 
upper Italy. 

Another part of Gog's army is the house of 
Togarmah. This represents races that dwell in 
the Caucasus and the northern part of Armenia. 
Says Winer: "The Armenians, according to 
Moses of Chorene, their native historian, are de- 
scendants of Torgomas, whose ancestors can be 
traced back to Japheth. They are known as the 
house of Togarmah" (1,87). The Analytical Con- 
cordance finds the house of Togarma in northern 
Armenia which is now under the rule of Russia. 
According to Luther's translation it is located 
"toward midnight," that is, north of Jerusalem. 
This translation merely shows that these races 
still live, at least partly, in northern Armenia 
and in the Caucasus, thus being represented in 
the Russian army. But we might more literally 
translate the passage: "From the uttermost 
north." Inasmuch as this verse also refers to 
Gomer, the Scots and Irish, such a translation 
would seem preferable. While it is improbable 
that anyone should trace the house of Togarma 
with certainty, the testimony of prophecy is suf- 
ficient. We conclude that the Russian troops 
from the uttermost parts of the north, perhaps 



from Siberia, of whose origin so little is known, 
are related to these races. 

All these nations are led by Gog (England). 
A mighty army indeed! The races, mentioned 
by the prophet, offer a united front against Ger- 
many, Austria and Turkey. Thus the present 
war characterizes itself as fulfilling the proph- 
ecy of Ezeldel. 



40 



IV. 
THE LAND OF ISRAEL 

The greatest difficulty encountered by the com- 
mentators in the interpretation of Ezekiel 38 and 
39, arises from that part of the prophecy which 
states that Gog shall come up against the peo- 
ple of Israel (38 :14-16) , that he shall be defeated 
on the mountains of Israel (38:18; 39 : 2, 4, 17), 
that the house of Israel shall bury him and his 
host (39 :12 ) , burn the weapons (39 :9 ) , and that 
the captivity of Jacob shall not be ended (39 :9) 
until Gog has suffered the defeat thus prophe- 
sied. This difficulty, however, mil disappear, 
if we consider the prophet's plain statement that 
these things shall happen ''in the latter years" 
(38:8). The mountains of Israel, therefore, do 
not signify Palestine nor is the house of Israel 
to be interpreted as meaning the Jews. The 
scriptural records of both the Old and New Tes- 
taments, when speaking of the latter years, in- 
variably refer to the time beginning with the 
birth of Christ and ending with the last judg- 
ment. Now, during this period the house of 
Israel is composed of Jews and heathen alike, 
and only those Jews who have accepted the Gos- 
pel, can continue to claim fellowship with the 
true Israel of God. Referring to the era of the 

41 



New Testament Isaiali says (2 :2) : "And it shall 
come to pass in tlie last days ttiat tlie mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above 
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." 
The prophet Micah (4:1) uses almost the same 
phraseology, and St. John ( 1 John 2 :18 ) has 
this period in mind when he says, "Little chil- 
dren, it is the last time." Christ is the center 
of the world's history. He divides the ages in- 
to the first time and the last time. 

Whenever the Bible speaks of the Israel of the 
last time or of the New Testament, it does not 
refer to the ten tribes but to the people of God 
in a universal sense. This is strikingly illus- 
trated by Jeremiah (23 :6) : "In his days Judah 
shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely." 
The prophet speaking of the time of the New 
Testament and bearing in mind salvation 
through Christ mentions Judah and Israel to- 
gether as partakers of this salvation. Since the 
ten tribes had been led into captivity by Shal- 
maneser, king of Assyria, and had never re- 
turned, the statement seems absurd. Only by 
interpreting Israel as the spiritual people of God 
and not as a provincial term this prophecy be- 
comes intelligible. The same holds true of Jer- 
emiah (33:7). Here the prophet speaks of the 
returning of the captivity of Israel which in the 
literal sense would be impossible since the ten 
tribes had been led away and mingled with the 
gentiles. That Jeremiah was thinking of the 
spiritual Israel appears also in the phraseology 

42 



of the 16th verse where the word Jerusalem is 
put in place of Israel. Jerusalem is generally 
used as typifying the church of the New Testa- 
ment. The facts of history prove that the David 
referred to in the 17th verse is not the Jewish 
king. It is Christ, the spiritual king of Israel. 
In the 72nd Psalm David clearly defines the uni- 
versality of Christ's kingdom, picturing Israel 
as a spiritual realm beyond all geographical de- 
scriptions. To this Israel belong the poor of 
the people and the children of the needy whose 
oppressors the Lord will break in pieces. Zeph- 
aniah (3:14) applies the terms "daughter of 
Zion" and '^daughter of Jerusalem" to those 
whose iniquity has been forgiven through the 
merit of Christ. Surely not Israel in the literal 
sense is thought of by Isaiah ( 19 :24-25 ) when 
he speaks of "Israel mine inheritance." That 
Christ uses the term in the larger sense is very 
evident. Read Luke 3 :8. Also his statement 
(John 8 :39) : "If ye were Abraham's children, ye 
would do the works of Abraham." We might also 
quote St. Paul (Rom. 2 :28-29) : "For he is not a 
Jew which is one outwardly ; neither is that cir- 
cumcision which is outwardly in the flesh : But 
he is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circum- 
cision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not 
in the letter." A similar interpretation is given 
in the epistle to the Philippians, 3 :3 ; also Rom. 
9:7. To the Galatians he writes (3:28-29): 
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither 
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female : 
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be 

43 



Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." All these quotations 
prove beyond a doubt that whenever the Bible 
speaks of the last time, the time of the New Tes- 
tament, it employs the terms Abraham's seed, 
circumcision or Israel only then in the original 
sense when the context clearly shows this to be 
the intent ; generally speaking, these terms have 
allegorical meaning and apply to the spiritual 
descendants of Abraham, the followers of Christ. 
But since the Jews up to the present time are 
not doing the works of Abraham ( John 8 :39 ) , 
they cannot be called the children of Abraham. 
The true Israel is not limited to a certain nation. 
Still less is it confined to a certain country, for 
the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. 
The land of Israel is the country in which the 
people are true to God and obey His holy com- 
mandments. 

Nor is Palestine the land of Israel of which 
Ezekiel speaks, because the Jews do not live in 
the land of their fathers. Therefore, even if 
they were the people of God, they could not de- 
feat Gog on the hills of Judea. Palestine is 
not even a Christian country. It is controlled 
by the gentiles. According to Christ's proph- 
ecy it has been oppressed by the heathen ever 
since the destruction of Jerusalem. The Lord 
warned the Jews (Luke 13:35) : "Behold, your 
house is left unto you desolate ; and verily I say 
unto you. Ye shall not see me, until the time 
come when ye shall say. Blessed is he that com- 
eth in the name of the Lord." Before Israel 

44 



sliall return to Palestine, it must recognize the 
Lord and accept Him as king. And that this 
may come about the Lord will defeat Gog on 
the mountains of Israel (Ezek. 39). That ac- 
complished, the Lord will bring again the cap- 
tivity of Jacob and will return the Jews to the 
land of their fathers (Ezek. 39:25-27). Gog is 
to be defeated on the mountains of Israel and 
to be buried by the house of Israel. Since the 
Jews are still persisting in their unbelief and 
therefore cannot be called a people of God, and 
since they do not dwell in the land of their fath- 
ers which is being occupied by the gentiles, it 
is very apparent that neither the ''house of Is- 
rael" mentioned by the prophet refers to the 
Jews nor "the land of Israel" to Palestine. 

Another reason why the war mentioned by 
Ezekiel (38:39) cannot take place in Palestine 
is the fact that such vast armies (38:1-6) are 
to be brought into action during this, the great- 
est war of all times, that Palestine affords no 
adequate space for their movements. 

Finally we are forced to reject Palestine as 
the land specified by the prophet because a 
place such as is mentioned ( 39 :11 ) does not 
exist there. The English Bible speaks of "the 
valley of the passengers on the east of the sea," 
but we do not endorse this translation. If Ezek- 
iel had spoken of Judah or some other tribe, 
the St. James version might have some signifi- 
cance. But as it stands it is so hazy that it 
signifies nothing. We might as well apply it 
to Syria; it might refer to any country which 

45 



is witMn a thousand miles east of the sea. Lu- 
ther's translation is much better. He uses these 
words: "where people walk along the sea to- 
ward the east." As a matter of fact, people in 
Palestine can walk along the sea toward the 
north and toward the south, but not toward the 
east. This fact excludes Palestine from the pos- 
sible lands referred to in our prophecy. It 
shows that the land of Israel has spiritual sig- 
nificance. 

Which, then, is the true land of Israel? Since 
we have demonstrated that England is the land 
of Gog, because she leads all the nations named 
in the prophecy, we might properly infer that 
the land of Israel are the countries against whom 
this Gog is going to war : Germany and Austria, 
But while such a conclusion is no doubt correct, 
we have other means of substantiating our belief. 

Ezekiel says ( 38 :12 ) that the house of Israel 
dwells "in the midst of the land," or as others 
have translated, "around the navel of the earth." 
This cannot be said of the Jews, even if they did 
live in Palestine, nor of any great nation except 
the two central empires : Austria and Germany. 
They are in the midst of the land and sur- 
rounded by enemies. 

We also call attention to Ezekiel 38 :11 where 
Gog says: "I will go to them that are at rest, 
that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without 
walls, and having neither bars nor gates." This 
strikingly applies to Germany and Austria.* 



* Since the publication of the German edition of this 
book, we have received various inquiries as to the origin 

46 



Germany has but few fortresses along tlie 
Frencli frontier, wMle France lias scattered Iter 
fortifications thickly along the German border 
line. jSTeither have the central empires any for- 
tresses to speak of near the Russian boundary, 
and the few which they do have can be easily 
circumvented. For this reason they bear out 
the prophetic picture of a land dwelling safely 
and without walls. Gog figured that he would 
be in Berlin within three or four weeks. 

And when we bear in mind the progress made 
by ''the lands in the midst" since 1870, Austria 
having greatly developed her commerce, while 
Germany made gigantic strides, we may well 
apply to them the words of the j)rophecy ( 38 : 
12) : "which have gotten cattle and goods." 

Another evidence may be procured from the 
13th verse : "Sheba and Dedan, and the mer- 
chants of Tarshish, with all the young lions 
thereof shall say unto thee, Art thou come to 
take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company 
to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, 
to take away cattle and goods, to take a great 
spoil?" The nations here mentioned are those 



of the German people. When in the year 114 B. C. the 
Cimbri and Teutones, a partly German people, came in 
contact for the first time with the Roman legions, the 
full-blooded German and Scandinavian tribes had been 
occupying their territory for many centuries. But the 
historians of that age knew nothing about them. For 
this reason we cannot even discover any suggestion of 
their origin in the records of the past. Some of the 
modern Jews have found in the Germans the descendants 
of Ashkenaz (Gen. 10:3). But neither their national 
traits nor their language indicate any connection with 
the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Nor is the fact that Ezek- 

47 



wh.0 excelled commercially in very early times. 
Sheba is a country located in Arabia, near the 
Red Sea, called Sabaea by the ancient Romans. 
Today it is a part of Turkish possessions. In 
later years the Sabeans were scattered over the 
entire peninsula. Dedan, which according to 
Ezek. 27:15 represents a people of merchants, 
are probably not descendants of Ham ( Gen. 10 : 
7), but Shemites, descendants of Abraham by 
Keturah (Gen. 25:3). They located on the 
peninsula of Arabia near the Persian Gulf, and 
are also under Turkish rule. Since Mohamed- 
anism originated among these people the proph- 
ecy refers to the modern Turks, in fact to all 
the Mohamedans who declared a holy war 
against Gog. The merchants of Tarshish are 
also mentioned (1 Kings 10:22) because they 
had a navy and early attained a high degree of 
commercial success. All of these, in fact all 
who have grown mighty through commercial ex- 
pansion declare war against Gog and unite in 
the common accusation : "Thou art come to take 
spoil." 

Luther's translation of this verse is an excla- 



iel calls the Germans the house of Israel to be used as 
an argument. All we might gather from this is the be- 
lief that they were descendants of Japheth, to whom was 
given the promise (Gen. 9:27): "God shall enlarge 
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" (mean- 
ing the Christian church). 

Should the English tradition, used by Redding in his 
book on "Our Near Future," correctly trace the Ten 
Tribes of Israel down to the Angles and Saxons, then we 
are forced to conclude that the modern English, (the 
Angles and Saxons of England), were also descendants 
of Gog, the Rubenite. 

48 



niation; the English version an interrogation. 
The meaning remains the same. It certainly 
applies to England. The whole world, not un- 
der British influence, will agree in this. Aye, 
even England's allies have been forced to admit 
it. The Anglo-American press which is certain- 
ly subservient to England openly states that 
England will annihilate the German navy, de- 
stroy German commerce and dismember the 
German empire. For the expenses of the war 
Germany is to pay a vast indemnity. Russia, on 
the other hand, aims to rob Austria. But since 
the whole scheme originated in the brain of 
England, she will be held responsible for Russia 
too. It is true that England has claimed for her 
actions the noblest designs. She has assured the 
world that she was merely fighting for Belgian 
neutrality. But Germany has furnished con- 
clusive evidence that Belgian neutrality did not 
even exist when the war began, it having been 
broken long since by a secret alliance with Eng- 
land. Not only the German empire, but the 
prophet Ezekiel characterizes England as a com- 
mon liar. However, only Sheba and Dedan 
(modern Turkey) have thus far drawn the log- 
ical conclusion from England's treachery. 
Rightly they argue. If England deals falsely 
with Germany, she will do likewise to us. For 
that reason the Turks joined the armies of Ger- 
many and Austria, proclaiming to the whole 
world : O Gog, thou speakest with lying tongue 
and with deceitful lips, when thou through thy 
spokesman Grey would'st have us believe that 

49 



thou art guided by noble motives. Tliou art 
come to take away silver and gold, to carry away 
cattle and goods, to take a great spoil! (verse 
13). Thus the fact that Turkey has joined with 
Austria and Germany is additional proof that 
these powers are the house of Israel spoken of 
by Ezekiel. 

Nor is it difficult to locate in Germany the 
place mentioned in chapter 39 :11. On the 
shores of the North Sea and also on the Baltic 
coast are places where one can walk along the 
sea toward the east, although prophecy, as yet 
unfulfilled, does not permit us to speak of such 
a place with certainty. 

The reason why these countries represent the 
house of Israel is their spiritual condition. Ger- 
many is the land of the Keformation; in no 
other country has the Gospel been preached as 
truly and fully since the days of the apostles. 
And while it is true that Catholicism, too, is 
represented in Germany, and especially in Aus- 
tria, we know that even among these Catholics 
we find a spiritual Israel. Those who would 
deny that Catholics might be saved, must also 
deny that the pope is the antichrist. The rea- 
son why Luther always characterized the pope 
as the antichrist was the fact that he was sitting 
in the temple of God (2 Thess. 2:4), that is, in 
the midst of the Christian church, which he cor- 
rupts with his ruinous influence. Although 
there are Catholic countries in which this cor- 
ruption has assumed awful proportions and one 
may doubt whether or not any spiritual Israel 

50 



is left in them, siicli a condition does not pre- 
vail in either Germany or Austria. 

But it may be argued that the true Gospel 
has been degraded even in the land of Luther. 
Monism, Deism and Agnosticism are being pro- 
claimed from hundreds of German pulpits. But 
we will show that this fact, instead of disprov- 
ing our assertion, will rather help to corrobo- 
rate it. 

Says Ezekiel (39 :23) : "And the heathen shall 
know that the house of Israel went into captiv- 
ity for their iniquity: because they trespassed 
against me, therefore hid I my face from them, 
and gave them into the hands of their enemies : 
so fell they all by the sword." This is the only 
verse in the two chapters which the commenta- 
tors have found difficult. However, we can sug- 
gest a way out. It must be admitted in the first 
place that the house of Israel mentioned here 
includes the Jews who were scattered after the 
destruction of Jerusalem. But that they are 
not the only ones thought of appears from the 
lines : "therefore hid I my face from them, and 
gave them into the hands of their enemies, so 
fell they all by the sword. According to their 
uncleanness and according to their transgres- 
sions have I done unto them, and hid my face 
from them." In these words the prophet 
announces that the war against Gog will claim 
many victims of the house of Israel. We would 
have to do violence to the text if we interpreted 
it as referring to the Jews who after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem fell by the sword of the Ro- 

51 



mans. The house of Israel mentioned here is 
the one which the prophet had in view in 
the preceding verses and which is to defeat 
Gog. True it is that in this war many Jews 
are engaged on either side and that many of them 
will be killed. But we must insist on the prin- 
ciple: "Not all that come out of Israel are Is- 
raelites." The Jews of today are not Israelites, 
one reason why their captivity is called "the 
captivity of Jacob" (25). In the light of ful- 
fillment we must interpret this prophecy. The 
house of Israel mentioned in the 23d verse com- 
prises not only the Jews and not only a Chris- 
tian nation, but both. 

The prophet speaks of an unfaithful house of 
Israel. This applies to the Jews in the days of 
Christ. For more than a thousand years God 
had disciplined them and won them back to His 
altars. But in the end they had rejected Him. 
Finally the greatest act of mercy known in his- 
tory was revealed to this people. God sent to 
them His only Son. Him they rejected and 
crucified. After that there was no further use 
of discipline. For that reason God dispersed 
them through the destruction of Jerusalem and 
hid His countenance from them. They had 
ceased to be His people and He permitted them 
to be scattered. All of this is stated in this 
verse of the prophecy. But that is not all. 

In place of Israel God received the gentiles 
among whom are also the Germans, the Austri- 
ans and the Hungarians. Of these the prophet 
has spoken in the preceding verses. But they 

52 



too have proven uiiwortliy. Tliroiigh the Ref- 
ormation God gave to the German people the 
pure Gospel, the most priceless gift since the 
days of the apostles. But Germany has been 
an unfaithful steward. The bulk of her preach- 
ers have offered naught but plain palaver or 
mingled with the water and bread of life poison- 
ous ingredients imported from England. Nor 
have the Catholics of Austria and Germany the 
plea of ignorance which might be made by mem- 
bers of that church in other countries. They 
have had opportunities of ascertaining the truth 
not offered to less fortunate countries. But 
like the Jews they neglected their chance. Thus 
the Christian Israel and the Jewish Israel are 
co-ordinated in the same verse, both belonging 
to the unfaithful household of God. We are 
judged according to the measure of grace. The 
more we receive, the more we are held account- 
able. The Jews were scattered by their enemies, 
the modern house of Israel suffers under the 
sword of Gog. Thus each is paying the penalty 
of transgression. 



53 



V. 
GOG ON THE WAEPATH 

In the latter days (Ezek. 38:8-16) Gog will 
commence hostilities against the house of Israel. 
The latter days as we have stated before is a 
general term applied by the Scriptures to the 
period beginning with Christ and ending with 
the Last Judgment. That this event will not 
take place in the early part of this period, but 
some 2500 years after the time of Ezekiel is in- 
dicated in the words (38:8) "after many days 
thou shalt be visited." In the year 1914 the 
prophecy found its fulfillment. 

It is further stated that Gog will appear with 
a large army. According to the prophecy ( 38 : 
2-6) he is leading a great company with buck- 
lers and shields : Magog representing the Hin- 
doos, Meshech the Slav races, Russians, Serbs, 
Poles ; Tubal, the original inhabitants of France, 
the British isles and the Italian isles of Sar- 
dinia and Sicily; besides the Persians, Ethi- 
opians and Libyans; also Gomer and all his 
bands, which means the Celtic race, Scotch and 
Irish, the inhabitants of Wales and Cornwall, 
the Belgians and French of Brittany and the 
Gauls who live in upper Italy ; finally, the house 
of Togarmah, representing the races south of 

54 



the Caucasus and probably those who come from 
Siberia, "out of the north parts.'' Truly an 
army of gigantic dimensions, such as the world 
has never witnessed ! Read the 9th verse : "Thou 
shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt 
be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all 
thy bands, and many people with thee." Read 
verses 15 and 16 : "And thou shalt come from 
thy place out of the north parts, thou and many 
people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, 
a great company and a mighty army : And thou 
shalt come up against my people of Israel, as 
a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the lat- 
ter days." With so vast an army Gog comes out 
of the north parts to cover Israel as a cloud. It 
seems useless to prove that England has fulfilled 
this prophecy; those who have eyes that see can 
witness this spectacle even now. 

Gog is by no means unprepared. He has been 
getting ready in every possible way. Listen to 
the prophet : "And I will bring thee forth, and 
all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them 
clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great 
company with bucklers and shields, and all of 
them handling swords; Persia, Ethiopia and 
Libya with them; all of them with shield and 
helmet" (38:4-5). The expression "clothed 
with all sorts of armor" is significant. "This 
means," says Starke, "that they were equipped 
not merely with weapons suitable for an attack, 
but also with armor-plate designed to furnish 
protection and security." Such arms of pro- 
tection are the bucklers and shields mentioned 

55 



by the prophet. But these do not merely refer- 
to the ancient shields which warriors carried 
before them while attacking their foes, but sym- 
bolize in a general way whatever may help to 
protect and safeguard in ancient or modern war- 
fare. Certainly Gog is well prepared as to this 
style of armament. And now look at England 
and her allies. Surely in this respect she has 
reached the acme of perfection. With her forti- 
fications she has encircled the whole globe. In 
the isles of the sea, aye on every continent she 
has her fortified harbors, whither her ships can 
flee for safety when pursued by an enemy. 
Among these are strongholds like Gibraltar, 
which is said to be unconquerable. Moreover, 
France and England excel in armor-clad ships. 
The fortresses of Belgium and France are con- 
sidered the most powerful in the world. At the 
commencement of the present war the allies 
boasted that France from Belfort up to the 
North Sea presented one solid chain of fortifi- 
cations. Thus this modern Gog is thoroughly 
equipped with arms of protection such as shields, 
helmets and bucklers. According to her own 
estimate England is altogether invincible. Her 
God is "the god of forces" (Dan. 11:38) whom 
her fathers knew not, but iii whom she has now 
put her whole confidence. Aye, this god Eng- 
land has truly honored with gold and silver, and 
with precious stones, and pleasant things." Will 
this god be able to help her in the present crisis? 
But not merely weapons of defence, but also 
arms of aggression are provided for in Gog's 

56 



preparations. The prophet speaks of bows aud 
arrows, handstaves and spears (39:9). This 
does not mean that Gog is to attack his foes like 
the ancient Scythians, with bows and arrows. 
These weapons indicate in a general way what 
formerly constituted the equipment of mighty 
warriors. The prophet desires to state that 
whenever Gog will begin his warfare, he will 
possess a splendid equipment of arms. And 
though having spoken 2500 years ago, how truly 
his words apply to England! She has the 
strongest navy in the world and on her dread- 
naughts she carries the most powerful guns. 
France, too, excels in naval strength. And while 
it is true that England's army is not very large, 
it must be borne in mind, that she has enlisted 
the services of other armies who are fighting for 
her. That this powerful host of allies is clothed 
with all sorts of armor the prophet has clearly 
predicted. Thus equipped Gog will strike: 
"Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou 
shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and 
all thy bands and many people with thee." 

The following verses disclose Gog's evil de- 
signs: "Thus saith the Lord God: It shall also 
come to pass, that at the same time shall things 
come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil 
thought." We are told that in the latter years 
of which verse 8 has spoken Gog shall conceive 
some Satanic schemes. His plan is revealed 
(verses 11 and 12) : "And thou shalt say, I will 
go up to the land of unwalled villages ; I will go 
to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all 

57 



of them dwelling without walls, and ha^dng 
neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to 
take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the des- 
olate places, that are now inhabited, and upon 
the people that are gathered out of the nations, 
which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell 
in the midst of the land." This is Gog's plan. 
Those that dwell without walls shall be made 
a prey. Surely a treacherous plan! However, 
we must guard against the conclusion that up 
to this time Gog had been a youth of habits un- 
defiled. Just as his ancestors would start ex- 
peditions for the deliberate purpose of taking 
spoil from the helpless, so he has ever been a 
plunderer since childhood's early days. Rob- 
bing and stealing have been his stock in trade. 
In this spirit he grew up. And today he is no 
longer a child of yesterday. Just like the beast 
of which Revelation says that it shall rise out 
of the sea, he is now 1260 years old. Habit sways 
him. The old dog cannot be taught any new 
tricks. If Gog is to change his ways, his long 
fingers will have to be shortened. 

When still a youth he stole in his own house- 
hold. He robbed churches and confiscated prop- 
erty. We admit that he generally wore a rather 
saintly mask while performing these tricks. 
Take the case of Henry VIII. This worthy po- 
tentate would never have thought of introduc- 
ing the Reformation into England, if he had 
not coveted the property of the church (see 
Larned, History of England, p. 274 ) . And when 
the thieving business did not offer good chances 

58 



at home, Gog became a pirate. Frances Drake, 
who made the second trip around the world, 
divided his robberies with the courtiers and the 
queen. Since then English pirates, with the 
sanction of their kings, have threatened every 
shore, (History of England by Larned, p. 324). 
England continued her nefarious business until 
she discovered that robbery in distant lands was 
the most profitable trade of all. So it came 
about that she acquired colossal possessions, 
'^devoured the wiiole earth," and that the Brit- 
ish empire exceeds in size every empire of the 
past (Dan. 7:24). 

England's method of robbing reveals a clever 
hand. Just as skilled thieves are apt to make 
a haul when the police force is busy chasing 
some notorious burglar, so England has watched 
every opportunity of grabbing land. And not 
only has she watched such opportunities, but 
actually created them. She has sown the seed 
of discord and incited one nation against 
another. Even now as of yore she has her 
agents working everywhere. In the United 
States there are few metropolitan dailies that 
are not swayed by English influence. 

Again, by controlling commerce, in which she 
had no competitors, England accumulated un- 
told wealth. Since time immemorial she has 
claimed this to be her birthright. When Ger- 
many and her allies doubted the infallibility of 
such a theory, they were marked for destruc- 
tion. With this point in view Ezekiel's proph- 
ecy is directed against England, while Daniel 

59 



and John in Kevelatioii greatly add to the list 
of England's crimes. 

Ezekiel does not mention Gog's former sins. 
Bnt lie puts special emphasis on the one great 
crime which fills up the measure of iniquity, 
affects large circles and is directed against the 
house of Israel. This was formerly a land of 
'^'desolate places." Hardly recovering from the 
devastations of one war, it was rushed into 
another, and when there were no enemies from 
without, domestic strife would lay waste its 
fields and cities. The weakness of Israel fitted 
admirably into the English program, for under 
such circumstances it was an easy matter for 
her to rob, to plunder and to bulldoze the weak. 

But the situation has changed. Since 1871 
the German empire has been restored. This fact 
served as a basis of unity for a number of small 
kingdoms which had been hitherto divided. And 
when Austria-Hungary entered into an alliance 
with Germany, the amalgamation of divided but 
related nations became complete. Since then 
these nations have lived without bars or gates; 
they have dwelled safely and without walls. But 
England's traditional robber schemes could no 
longer succeed. She could no longer sow the 
seeds of discord or incite one nation against 
another. To separate the united empires, to 
break up into bits the people that dwell in the 
midst of the land, surely this from the English 
view-point would be eminently worth while. 

Another fact mentioned in verse 12 : "which 
have gotten cattle and goods," aggravated the 

60 



situation. Heretofore Germany had depended 
largely on agriculture. But when it became 
necessary to feed her large population, she 
turned her attention to commercial enterprises 
and dared to compete with England. This 
caused the enmity of Gog. 

What were his real designs has become appar- 
ent through various disclosures that have been 
made since the beginning of the present war. 
England intended to tear Germany and Austria 
apart that she might use one against the other 
Tfhenever her interests would require it. But 
should she fail in this, she would crush both of 
them by overwhelming numbers. She would 
divide them into small kingdoms and levy such 
an indemnity that for years to come they would 
be under the yoke. In either case England 
would come out ahead, because she would cap- 
""ure the trade of the vanquished. 

Note how England measured up to the stan- 
dards of the highwayman in the planning of 
this robbery. For Gog no method is too base 
as long as he carries his point. Although Eng- 
land expected to gain much from the present 
war, she had no intention of fighting any battles 
herself. Edward VII. took a trip in 1907 for 
the purpose of isolating Germany and of mak- 
ing allies for England who might be called upon 
to do the dirty work. England would do her 
share by joining the triumphal procession into 
Berlin. 

But while man proposes, God disposes. In- 
stead of winning a glorious victory, Gog shall 

61 



suffer a most himiiliating defeat. God Himself 
will rise up against Mm. Hear tlie words of 
Ezekiel: "Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I 
am against thee, O Gog ; the chief prince of Me- 
shech and Tubal; I will turn thee back and put 
hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, 
and all thine army, horses and horsemen." Thus 
the present war is the war of the Lord. Ger- 
many, Austria and Turkey are merely the battle 
axe in the hands of Jehovah who will strike 
down Gog and his host. Against such an adver- 
sary Gog with his belief in "the god of forces" 
will gain nothing. Gog will come like a storm 
and cover the land like a cloud, but it will profit 
him nothing. God will put a hook in his jaw 
like a horseman bridling a wild broncho. Listen 
to the divine sarcasm of the 7th verse : "Be thou 
prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all 
thy company that are assembled unto thee, and 
be thou a guard unto them." Gog who has pre- 
pared this war for twenty years and has formed 
innumerable alliances, reviews his forces and 
thinks he is ready. The Lord invites him to 
look again and to make sure that nothing has 
been omitted. And after Gog has taken a sec- 
ond look and is absolutely satisfied that his 
preparations are flawlessly perfect, he is told 
not to risk anything by turning the command 
over to any of his allies : "Be thou a guard unto 
them." This recalls the words of the Psalmist 
(Psalm 2:4) : "He that sitteth in the heavens 
shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in de- 
rision." 

62 



Tlie whole Psalm seems to apply to Gog's iin- 
lioly war. For centuries France and England 
have taken counsel together against the Lord 
and His anointed. At the beginning of the 
present war they ridiculed Germany for prajdng 
to God and declared in so many words that the 
present conflict resolved itself into a battle of 
Voltaire and Rousseau against the old faith in 
the crucified Christ. This view was offered last 
fall in an article published in the Chicago Herald 
on the occasion of the sending of the two French 
battleships, Rousseau and Voltaire, against the 
Austrian fleet. Such comments explain God's 
determination to crush Gog and his allies. Eng- 
land has declared war against the Almighty. 
The challenge has been accepted. And in the 
fire of His wrath God will consume His enemies. 

That Gog's guilt must be of the blackest char- 
acter, appears from the intensity of God's wrath 
(38:17-19) : 'Thus saith the Lord; art thou 
he of whom I have spoken in old time by my 
servants the prophets of Israel, which prophe- 
sied in those days many years that I would 
bring thee against them? And it shall come to 
pass at the same time, when Gog shall come 
against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, 
that my fury shall come up in my face. For 
in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have 
I spoken." Here we are told that God has 
prophesied against Gog, not only through Ezek- 
iel, but through other prophets. Daniel speaks 
of Gog (7:24^^26; 11:36-45). We also refer to 
Isaiah 27 :1 ; Jer. 30 and 31 : 11, 36-45 ; Micah 4, 

63 



and no one can read the 2nd Psalm with un- 
prejudiced mind without being reminded of Gog 
and his evil designs. Very explicitly, although 
under a different symbol, Gog is described by 
John in the book of Revelation and Christ has 
pointed to him in describing the tribulations of 
the present war of which Gog is the cause. 

In the 17th verse we are told that when God's 
wrath will overcome Gog, the whole church 
shall know "Thou art he of whom I have spoken 
in old time by my servants the prophets of Is- 
rael." Terrible indeed when God proclaims to 
the world that a certain nation has been singled 
out for punishment. Misled by false prophets, 
( among whom we might mention Russel of mod- 
ern times because his destruction is clearly for- 
shadowed in Revelation) France and England 
have proclaimed themselves saviors of mankind 
and defenders of civilization. They have even 
announced their plan of inaugurating the mil- 
lennium. And now they are told that the Lord 
Himself is against them and that the millen- 
nium can never come, unless the whole British 
empire has been utterly destroyed. As a matter 
of fact the devil, through England, has ruled 
the world for a thousand years. The prophets 
have spoken of judgments which would come 
upon the gentiles. But only in the case of Gog 
it is declared that God will personally conduct 
the war. This proves how great is the wrath 
of the Lord. In the 18th and 19th verses we 
hear that when Gog shall come up against the 
land of Israel, God's wrath shall envelop him 

64 



in flames of destruction. Even before the war- 
Gog's fate lias been sealed. God has foreknown 
Ms wickedness and bas through the prophets 
proclaimed his doom : "Behold, it is come, and 
it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day 
whereof I have spoken" (39:8). This is the 
decree of God and no power in heaven and earth 
can alter its meaning. 

God Himself is the supreme war-lord. His 
battle-axe are the nations that fight against Gog. 
He calls the people together : "And I will call 
for a sword against him throughout all my 
mountains, saith the Lord God; every man's 
sword shall be against his brother." The Lord 
will call his sword throughout all his moun- 
tains. But the mountains of the Lord are not 
as we have shown the mountains of Palestine. 
If the text refers to actual mountains, it must 
mean the mountains in whatever land the peo- 
ple of God may live. But "mountains" have 
also allegorical significance in Bible phraseol- 
ogy. In Rev. 8:8, also in Zech. 4:7, they are 
the symbol of some mighty ruler. Again, they 
may signify protection ( Psalm 11 :1, also Psalm 
121 :1 ) . St. James' version translates the 121st 
Psalm : "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, 
from whence cometh my help," differing how- 
ever from the original which says: "should I 
lift up mine eyes to the hills? Whence cometh 
help to me?" This very passage proves that 
the Bible has earthly things in mind when speak- 
ing of mountains, unless the context proves dis- 
tinctly that a spiritual significance is thought 

65 



of. Even the 20th verse of our prophecy is 
best interpreted if we apply to the mountains 
a purely material sense. This would harmon- 
ize its meaning with the preceding verses. The 
mountains here mentioned signify the nations 
of the earth which are in the service of the Lord. 
But of Gog Daniel says that none shall help 
him ( 11 :45 ) . These words of Daniel as well 
as the last verses of the 38th chapter of Ezekiel 
are so worded that they cannot well be inter- 
preted until the time has come for their fulfill- 
ment. They seem to indicate that England 
will not succeed in gaining more allies than 
she has gained so far and that, should she suc- 
ceed in doing so, none of them would be able to 
help her. Also they seem to suggest that 
Germany and her allies will receive some rein- 
forcements. The words "every man's sword 
shall be against his brother" have been com- 
monly interpreted as meaning that as the 
Midianites killed each other when they were 
being overpowered by Gideon and his three 
hundred men, so Gog's soldiers shall destroy 
each other. If this were necessary for Gog's 
downfall, it would no doubt happen. But this 
interpretation may not be correct. The words 
might mean that Slav shall be against Slav, 
German against German, Jew against Jew in a 
fratricidal struggle such as is exemplified in the 
present war. Read Matth. 24 :10 ; Mark 13 :12. 
But there is no question that these words point 
to uprisings and revolutions in the very camp of 
Gog. Even now wild voices of revolt are being 

66 



heard in India and Africa. This view is con- 
firmed by the prophecy in Kev. 17 :17-18 where 
we are told that the powers that have given 
their kingdom unto the beast (Gog), to the 
woman which is the great city that reigneth over 
the kings of the earth, shall turn against her, 
make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh 
and shall burn her with fire. This simply means 
that England will be deserted by her allies. 
Suffice it to repeat that the Lord will call for a 
sword and that Gog most surely will be crushed. 

Even England's ''god of forces" will not stem 
the tide of destruction. ''The steep places shall 
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground" 
( 38 :20 ) . The mountains shall be thrown down. 
The mountains in this connection are those 
powers which assumed a protectorate for others. 
These shall be destroyed and prove unable to 
protect anyone. "The steep places" spoken of 
mean in the Hebrew "summits" or "high crags." 
For this reason some commentators believe that 
they symbolize kings. This is correct. Some of 
these will be hurled from their thrones. Every 
wall shall fall to the ground. Those who hither- 
to sought protection in the shadow of these 
powers will find themselves without support. 
Empires will be dissolved and kings lose their 
crowns. 

That the Lord takes active part in the battles 
is strikingly illustrated in the 22nd verse: "I 
will plead against him with pestilence and with 
blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his 
hands, and upon the many people that are with 

67 



Mm, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, 
fire and brimstone." The plagues mentioned 
here are partly beyond human control. They 
are six in number. Although some have already 
been recorded during the present war, we look 
for still greater manifestations of their terror. 
In the 16th chapter of Revelation we find a 
parallel to this prophecy which invites com- 
parison. From it we gather that the pestilence 
mentioned by Ezekiel is probably the Bubonic 
plague of India. Such a plague will break out 
in Gog's army and tend to unnerve it. Blood 
has flown in torrents; yet the most sanguinary 
struggle is yet to come. Of hailstones and over- 
flowing rains the press has frequently reported. 
The meaning of flre and brimstone is explained 
in Ezek. 39 :6, and more fully in the record of the 
fifth and sixth plague of which John speaks 
(Rev. 16). According to Rev. 16:10 the fifth 
vial of wrath was poured upon the seat of the 
beast. The seat of the beast is the great city 
that has dominion over the kings of the earth. 
It is to be burned ( Rev. 18 :18 ) . Ezekiel says : 
^'I will send a fire upon them that dwell care- 
les ly in the isles" (39:6). The sixth angel 
poured his vial upon the waters of Euphrates 
that '''he way of the kings of the east might be 
prepared. This thought is expressed by Ezekiel 
(39:6) : "I will send a fire on Magog." "I will 
rain upon him and his bands fire and brim- 
stone" means that there are to be fires In Magog 
which is India, or in the land of Gog which is 
England. The 17th verse of Rev. 16 states that 

68 



tlie seventli angel poured his vial into the air 
and there came a great voice from the throne 
saying, It is done, which corresponds with the 
statements of Ezekiel (38:17; 39:8). Since we 
shall return to these prophecies in the Second 
Part, the general outline must sufiice for the 
present. 

After describing Gog's warfare, his defeat and 
the causes which led up to it, in the 38th chapter, 
Ezekiel proceeds to give a more detailed account 
of it in the 39th chapter. There he says (verse 
3 ) : "I will smite thy bows out of thy left hand, 
and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy 
right hand." With bows and arrows the prophet 
characterizes the iveapons of attack ivhich Gog 
employs for his purposes. The Lord will smite 
the bows out of his left hand and since arrows 
without bows have little value, they will be 
thrown aside. This indicates that in this great 
war Gog will not be benefited by his weapons 
of attack. Therefore he cannot continue in 
battle nor gain the victory. His defeat is sealed. 
This is more definitely portrayed in the 4th and 
5th verses : ^'Thou shalt fall upon the mountains 
of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and tl.Q people 
that is with thee : I will give thee unto the raven- 
ous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the 
field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the 
open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord 
God." This does not mean that Gog and all his 
bands shall appear on German or Austrian soil. 
On the mountains of Israel he shall fall. The 
great decisive battle is to be fought there. 

69 



While many a conflict has taken place on Ger- 
man or Hungarian soil, the mightiest is yet to 
come. (This was written in February, 1915). 

The words : ^'I will give thee unto the raven- 
ous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the 
field" are daily being fulfilled. This is to be 
understood literally as may be gathered from the 
12th and 14th verses : ''And seven months shall 
the house of Israel be burying of them, that they 
may cleanse the land . , . and they shall sever 
out men of continual employment, passing 
through the land to bury with the passengers 
those that remain upon the face of the earth, to 
cleanse it : after the end of seven months shall 
they search. And the passengers that pass 
through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, 
then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers 
have buried it in the valley of Hamongog." The 
slain will be scattered on the battlefield and 
therefore become a prey to bird and beast. This 
will surely happen, of that there is no doubt, 
"because I have spoken, saith the Lord God." 
And to emphasize this fact, a second command 
is given (39:17-20): "And, thou son of man, 
thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto every 
feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, 
assemble yourselves and come ; gather yourselves 
on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice 
for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains 
of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink 
the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of 
lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them 

70 



fatlings of Baslian. And ye shall eat fat till ye 
be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of 
my sacrifice, which I have sacrificed for you. 
Thus ye shall be filled at my table Avith horses 
and chariots, with mighty men and with all men 
of war, saith the Lord God." Every feathered 
fowl and all the beasts of the field are called to- 
gether because the prey is so large that all can be 
fed and have abundance. Nor is it a common sac- 
rifice. It consists of the choicest of the land: 
rams, lambs, goats, bullocks, all of them fatlings 
of Bashan. Bashan used to be famous on ac- 
count of its fertile soil and its rich pastures. 
If anyone had purchased cattle that looked ex- 
traordinarily well, people would say : he bought 
a fatling of Bashan. Now among the descend- 
ants of Ruben there was one Gog who used to 
tend cattle in eastern Bashan. To him the 
prophet calls attention. Just as Gog, the 
Rubenite, never ate anything but the best, so 
the Gog of this prophecy has never been satisfied 
with anything but the choicest. Read also Rev. 
18:1 and following verses. In this sense the 
bands of Gog which are the sacrifices for the 
birds and beasts of the field are also fatlings. 
The allusion is ironical. It illustrates (as does 
the terrible fate of Gog) the intensity of God's 
wrath. 

But Gog and his bands shall not only be» pun- 
ished on the mountains of Israel. They shall 
suffer in their own countries. "And I will send 
a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell 
carelessly in the isles, and they shall know that 

71 



I am the Lord God" (Ezek. 39:6). Compare 
with this Eev. 16:19. Magog is India. Fire 
shall be poured upon India. As a result the 
cities of the nations fell down (Rev. 16:19). 
But fire shall also be poured upon those who 
dwell carelessly in the isles. Commenting on 
this statement, Luther says: "Gog's own land, 
his very home will burn." If Luther had con- 
sidered that Gog came from the north parts 
( 38 :15 ) , he would not have mistaken him for the 
Turks, but found him in England. Of the 
British Ezekiel says that they dwell carelessly 
in the isles. This is also confirmed by John in 
Rev. 18:7 where the woman which is the great 
city says : "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and 
shall see no sorrow." That this is the boastful 
spirit of London and England is perfectly clear. 
If you doubt it, read British comments on the 
war. Nothing is more expressive of English 
arrogance than their patriotic sentiment : "Rule 
Britannia." But this defiant sense of security 
will soon have an end. Says John in Revelation 
(16:19) : "And great Babylon came in remem- 
brance before God, to give unto her the cup of 
the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." Judg- 
ment will overtake her. "Therefore shall her 
plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, 
and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned with 
fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth 
her" (Rev. 18:8). Thus England will exper- 
ience that the God to whom Israel prayed at the 
beginning of the war but whom she has dis- 
honored by bowing to Agnosticism, Materialism 

72 



and Pantheism is the true God who inclines His 
ear to the prayer of His people. 

The terrible defeat of Gog is minutely de- 
scribed in Ezekiel 39 :9-16. ''And they that 
dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and 
shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the 
shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, 
and the handstaves, and the spears, and they 
shall burn them with fire seven years : so that 
they shall ^ake no wood out of the field, neither 
cut down any out of the forest : for they shall burn 
the weapons with fire." After the battle is over 
they that dwell in the cities of Israel will burn 
the weapons. Shields and bucklers, bows and 
arrows, handstaves and shields are mentioned. 
But we are to think of those equipments which 
are being used in modern warfare : rifles, guns, 
wagons, tents, tools of every description. All of 
this will be used as firewood by the citizens in 
Israel and the supply is to last seven years. We 
have no right to distort the plain meaning of these 
words. We should note, however, that Ezekiel 
does not say : all the citizens of the whole house 
of Israel, but "they that dwell in the cities of 
Israel," meaning, no doubt, those who live in 
cities close to the battlefield. They will burn 
the weapons and will have a wood supply for 
seven years. 

"And they shall spoil those that spoiled them, 
and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord 
God" (39:10). This signifies that the house of 
Israel shall do to Gog what Gog meant to do to 
the house of Israel. Now England has long 

73 



since announced what she Avill do to her enemies 
after they have been crushed. Will not Ger- 
many, Austria and Turkey take note of this? 

Gog and his bands have gone forth to take 
possession of the house of Israel. They shall 
possesss it, but not to rule over it as they im- 
agined but as a burial place. This is the irony 
of the 11th verse : ''And it shall come to pass 
in that day, that I Avill give unto Gog a place 
there of graves in Israel, the valley of the pass- 
engers on the east of the sea (the valley where 
one passeth along the sea toward the east) ; and 
it shall stop the noses of the passengers : and 
there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude, 
and they shall call it the valley of Hamongog.'' 
We have already indicated that there is in Ger- 
many a place where one can walk toward the 
east along the sea and we might express a definite 
opinion as to where this place is located. But 
the outcome of the war will soon solve the prob- 
lem. We know that it is the place where the 
great battle will be fought which will de- 
cide the fate of Gog. So terrible will be this 
battle that centuries afterwards those that pass 
over the field of carnage will be horrified. And 
because Gog's great power will be shattered 
there, it shall be called Hamongog. The follow- 
ing verses however clearly state that the place 
of battle shall cover considerable ground : "And 
seven months shall the house of Israel be bury- 
ing them that they may cleanse the land. Yes, 
all the people of the land shall bury them; and 
it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall 

74 



be glorified, saitli the Lord God. And they shall 
sever out men of continual employment passing 
through the land to bury with the passengers 
those that remain upon the face of the earth, 
to cleanse it ; after the end of seven months shall 
they search. And the passengers that pass 
through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, 
then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers 
have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. And 
also the name of the city, shall be Hamonah. 
Thus shall they cleanse the land'' (Ezek. 
39 :12-16) . A battle on so vast a scale has never 
been fought in the history of the world. For 
seven months the house of Israel will bury the 
dead, in order to cleanse the land. This, of 
course, does not refer to the whole house of 
Israel but to those who live in the neighborhood 
of the scene of action. We have no right to as- 
sume that the prophet made use of an exaggera- 
tion to emphasize the fierceness of the conflict. 
Considering that the battle lines in the present 
war extend for hundreds of miles and that they at 
times sway to and fro over territory covering 
several miles, it becomes very evident that the 
burying of the dead will require much time and 
labor. At the end of the seven months people will 
still search for dead bodies. The city of the 
slain shall be called Hamonah, which means: 
heap or army. There will be many general 
graves in which hundreds of bodies will be 
buried together. The largest among these is to 
be called Hamonah. It is not only possible, but 
probable that the city nearest it will receive the 
same name, yg 



Tlius Gog's great battle plan will utterly fail. 
He started out to cover with shame the house of 
Israel and to crown himself with immortal glory. 
He aimed to crush faith in the living God 
and to replace it with the worship of Darwin, 
Eousseau and Voltaire. But he shall be branded 
with eternal disgrace, and before all Christen- 
dom he will be unmasked as the enemy of God, 
the apostle of negation over whose downfall 
heaven and earth shall rejoice (Rev. 19:1). All 
this will be done to glorify God, and to convince 
the world that without the aid of the Almighty, 
Israel could never have conquered. The victors 
will praise the Lord. 



76 



VI. 
THE PURPOSE OF GOD 

The evil design is conceived in the heart of 
Gog. God merely permits it. But without this 
permission the ungodly can in no sense harm the 
house of Israel. If, on the other hand, the 
people of Israel prove unfaithful, they are given 
into the hand of their enemies until they repent 
of the evil and return to the Lord. This has 
always been God's way of doing things. Ezekiel 
is only one among many other prophets who 
testify to this truth. He says that God's way 
will be the same in the latter years and that Gog 
will serve as a punishment of Israel's unfaithful- 
ness. This, to be sure, does not square with 
Gog's opinion that the war is entirely of his own 
making and that God has nothing to do with it. 
English, French and American people repeatedly 
stated at the beginning of hostilities that God 
might be embarrassed by the opposing prayers of 
the opposing armies. But that we should not be 
deceived by such sacrilegious babble, we are told 
twice in the 38th chapter (16:17), that God is 
causing Gog to go forth against Israel. This is 

77 



coiifirmed in tlie 39th. chapter ( 2 ) : "I will cause 
thee to come up from the north parts, and will 
bring thee upon the mountains of Israel." 

We must clearly distinguish between this 
statement and the similar one of the preceding 
chapter (38:4). The latter says that when Gog 
will go forth against Israel, the Lord will put 
a hook in his jaws and turn him back. But the 
39th chapter distinctly states that the Lord ivill 
cause Gog to go forth against Israel. The 
translators have met with some difficulty in the 
word which the English Bible renders as mean- 
ing ''leave but the sixth part of thee." This 
according to some commentators might signify 
either "strike thee with six plagues" or "draw 
thee back with an hook of six teeth." We hesi- 
tate to accept the translations because they read 
into the prophecy what it does not plainly state. 
Whether or not they are correct will have to be 
seen in the light of fulfillment. They are not 
proven by the phraseology. Luther, on the other 
hand, translates the word as meaning "enticing," 
conforming in this respect with the version of 
the Septuagint and the Vulgate. But in 
Ezekiel 45 :13 he translates this same word twice 
as meaning "the sixth part." Other versions 
are "I will leave of thee but the sixth part" and 
"I will give to thee the number six." This latter 
translation would harmonize with what Rev. 
13 :18 says concerning the beast. But those who 
strain the words as meaning "I will pull thee 
with a hook of six teeth" attribute to the text 
a significance w^hich does not square with the 

78 



preceding or following verses. That the Lord 
will turn Gog back with a hook of six teeth is 
described in Ezekiel 38:22, but Ezekiel 39:2 
speaks of the fact that God will cause Gog to 
come up from the north parts and will bring him 
upon the mountains of Israel. 

Certain it is that the prophet wishes to empha- 
size that the Lord Himself causes Gog to come 
up from the north parts. He leads, urges and 
beckons him to come. How God makes the 
wicked to rush into their own graves may be 
gathered from the story of Ahab ( 1 Kings 22 ) . 
TVTien Ahab, the King of Israel, purposed to join 
with Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, in a war 
against the Syrians, he gathered false prophets 
together, about four hundred men, and said unto 
them, ^'Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to 
battle or shall I forbear? And they said, Go 
up ; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hands 
of the king." But there was at that time a true 
prophet in Israel, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, of 
whom Ahab said: "I hate him, for he does not 
prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Ahab 
did not care about the truth. He did not ask 
for the w^ord of the Lord. He wanted prophets 
who would tell him what was agreeable and 
pleasant to hear. But upon the request of 
Jehoshaphat the king consents to give ear to 
Micaiah. When approaching this prophet the 
messengers warn him ' 'Behold now, the words 
of the prophets declare good unto the king with 
one mouth ; let thy word, I pray thee, be like the 
word of one of them and speak that which is 

79 



good." Now since tlie king had sent for Micaiah, 
althougk he was not anxious to hear the word 
of the Lord, the prophet offers the pleasant re- 
mark: ''Go, and prosper." But when Ahab 
adjured him to tell nothing but that which was 
true in the name of the Lord, Micaiah states the 
facts. Then Ahab is greatly displeased and says 
to Jehoshaphat : ''Did I not tell thee that he would 
prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?" 
Thereupon the prophet proceeds to tell the whole 
truth: "Hear thou therefore the word of the 
Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and 
all the hosts of heaven standing by Him on His 
right hand and on His left. And the Lord said. 
Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up 
and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on 
this manner and another said on that manner. 
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before 
the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And 
the Lord said unto him. Wherewith? And he 
said, I will go forth and I will be a lying spirit 
in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, 
Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also: go 
forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the 
Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all 
these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken 
evil concerning thee" (19:23). For this plain 
statement of facts Micaiah was put into prison 
and fed with the bread and water of affliction, 
while the king went to war and perished. 

Ahab had sold himself to work evil in the sight 
of the Lord and was therefore marked for de- 
struction. The Lord caused his prophets to 

80 



propliesy falsely. Just so Gog has sold himself 
to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Ever since 
the Angles and Saxons took possession of the 
British Isles, Christianity has suffered persecu- 
tion. Only in secrecy and in out-of-the-way 
places the Gospel could hold its sway. The 
Christian Britons who had accepted Christ long 
before the advent of the Angles and Saxons, 
were conquered, oppressed and partly extermi- 
nated. But as soon as the English kings con- 
sented to be baptized, they aimed to dominate 
the church. History clearly proves that these 
kings were baptized solely for the purpose of 
strengthening their influence with the Britons 
who otherwise would have offered opposition to 
their rule. Most of the kings showed no fruits 
of conversion except to abandon grossest idola- 
try. But if it did happen that a king proved to 
be a real Christian, he was immediately assassi- 
nated or tonsured and kept in a monastery. 
True it is, that England has at all times posed 
as the grand forerunner of Christianity, but only 
such preachers have proved acceptable to the 
English crown who knew how to harmonize with 
the principles of Christ all kinds of crimes, 
church robberies, etc., and who would sanction 
the lives of Henry VIII., Edward VII. and 
others. England is generally known as a mis- 
sionary and distributor of Bibles. This even her 
critics admit. But it must not be forgotten, that 
no nation on earth has so greatly interfered 
through its evil practices, with the progress of 
missions as this same England. Just as the 

81 



Englisli and later tlie Americans would enter in- 
to agreements with the natives of this country 
and afterwards urge settlers to break these agree- 
ments so that they might have a subterfuge for 
the slaughter of the Indians, so English mission- 
aries have been sent into distant countries to 
clear the way for England's colonial ambitions. 
These missionaries were followed by British 
soldiers. We do not deny that among such mis- 
sionaries were men of noble purpose and of de- 
vout disposition. But even they had to serve 
as spies for Great Britain and report opportuni- 
ties for English aggression. To English mis- 
sionary activity we apply the word of Isaiah: 
"In the land of uprightness will He deal unjust- 
ly" (26 :10) . Like the scribes and pharisees they 
compass land and sea to make one proselyte and, 
when he is made, they make him twofold more 
the child of hell than themselves ( Matth. 23 :15 ) . 
The majority of Englishmen know only a 
heaven upon this earth. For this reason their 
missionary labors tend to close heaven to their 
proselytes. Jesus says : "Ye neither go in your- 
selves, neither suffer ye them that are entering 
to go in." 

Whatsoever is holy or unholy England has 
placed in the service of her dreams of empire. 
Just as King Ahab surrounded himself with four 
hundred false prophets who were ordered to tell 
him not the truth but rather the things that 
please, so England has engaged a false prophet 
to justify her colonial crimes. Therefore God 
will lead England like Ahab upon the path of 

82 



destruction. Kead the words of St. John (Rev. 
16:13-14) : "And I saw three unclean spirits 
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, 
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of 
the mouth of the false prophet. For they are 
the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go 
forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole 
world, to gather them to the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty." Unclean spirits came 
out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth 
of the beast and out of the mouth of the false 
prophet. The dragon is the devil, England the 
beast and Russell the false prophet. The un- 
clean spirits which John saw coming out of their 
mouth are the hostile attacks made by Russell 
and the dragon against every holy institution of 
the Church and State. The mouth of the dragon 
is more particularly the English, the French 
and the Anglo-American press. The unclean 
spirit, coming out of the mouth of the beast, are 
the lying comments on Germany, emanating 
from England and propagated by the news- 
papers. Russell is a false prophet and a child 
of the times. It is difficult to say which is cause 
and which is effect. Being in the same predica- 
ment with his admirers, he undertakes to com- 
fort them in their unbelief by denying the ex- 
istence of hell. This accounts for the thousands 
(or as he says: millions) in England, America 
and Australia who have accepted his cult. This 
prophet is a boon for England. The fact that he 
prophesied the present war as early as 1898 is 
proof that he is close to representative English- 



meii. His prophecies are a fraud. That lie is a 
mere tool* in the hands of abominable liars 
appears from the nature of his calculations, 
arrogant and idiotic effusions which will help 
to make the blind still blinder. God leads 
England to destruction, but He does this not by 
deceiving her through false prophets. England 
herself is the deceiver. Just as Ahab had fellows 
whom he called prophets and whose business it 
was to say nothing except what would please the 
king, so England has selected Russell. England 



*If the reader has any doubt as to Russel's connec- 
tion with the British government, he is invited to read 
Russel's book: Studies in Scriptures. Series 4. The 
Battle of Armageddon. A large part of this volume is 
devoted to a discussion of Labor and Capital, quoting 
suggestions of prominent men regarding a possible im- 
provement of present conditions. It is noticeable that 
all these suggestions are criticised with the exception of 
those coming from Englishmen. Russel furnishes proof 
that the silver law of 1873 originated in the brain of 
British bankers and by them was made a law. Since then 
British gold has been doubled in value and every financial 
crisis in the United States brought about by English cap- 
ital. But for this Russel does not blame the English. 
On the contrary he makes them appear as wise teachers 
who would have us know that only by submission to a 
central government can the world be saved against finan- 
cial panics. Russel's millennium consists in the British 
ruling for a thousand years. From all his statements 
we gather that his kingdom of heaven is simply a king- 
dom of this world, although he is sly enough to conceal 
this belief. Russel would interpret "Thy kingdom come" 
as meaning: May British rule also come to us and extend 
to the uttermost parts of the earth! 

Since the publication of the German edition of this 
book we ran across a volume by Wm. A. Redding, en- 
titled "Our Near Future." Redding and Russel see 
things so completely alike that they have either received 
the same kind of inspiration in London or one is copying 
"prophecies" from the other. Redding's statements are 
really more to the point because this gentleman does not 

84 



wanted the war that she might be sole ruler of 
the world. To this end she needed a prophet. 
She chose Russell to predict the war and to 
justify it from the British point of view. We 
call him a prophet, not because he foretells any 
future events, but because he justifies ungodli- 
ness by distorting the Scriptures. Recalling her 
many successes in world politics by means of 
deceit and misrepresentation England saw fit to 
entrust Russell with the task of mudding the 
waters of public opinion in the United States. 



hesitate to declare openly that England and America are 
the chosen people who will conquer Jerusalem and rule 
the world. We also gather from his pages that Eng- 
land's calculations have frequently miscarried. He con- 
veys the impression that the Armenian disturbances of 
1896 were caused by American and English missionaries 
for the purpose of furnishing a pretext for England to 
capture Palestine from the Turks. He intimates that 
in 1915 England will control the whole world. Says 
Redding (pages 82 and 83) : "And the great bulk of the 
Lost Ten Tribes of Israel are in the United States and 
England; and out of these Ten Tribes (not Jews) spring 
the live roots which are to make the tree sprout up from 
the stump. They are called the governors of Judah; 
that is, they {not Jews) will govern the Jews, and vail 
have such fearful power that they will melt down all 
other rulers of earth." Of our own government he 
writes (page 87): "In the face of all past historij and 
present observation as to the lameness of all man-made 
governments, we find the public talking loudly for a gov- 
ernment by the people. Such talk is trash. It is the 
gabbling of unenlightened minds." He exclaims (page 
85): "Therefore, I say once more, governments of 
earth! Good-bye, churches! The fatal dose is being 
prepared for you, and the gripings and agonies, while 
you are passing through dissolution, will be terrible, 
but down you must, as the hosts of heaven will wrestle 
with you, as the time is almost here for the Saints of 
the Most High to take possession and rule and judge the 
earth." No sane man can have any doubt that both 
Russell and Redding are mouth-pieces of England. 

85 



On the other hand the Bible says plainly that 
God caused Gog to come up from the north parts. 
God has veiled the vision of Russell so that he 
cannot see the truth. Eussell studied the Bible 
for the purpose of proving that there is no hell. 
He was an infidel himself, unwilling to change 
his ways. He aimed to ease his conscience. 
For this reason God blinded his sight and made 
him imagine that he had found what he 
sought. England needed the aid of this prophet 
to appear as the pioneer of the millennium. She 
secured his services to create this impression. 
Leaving public opinion to his manipulation, she 
prepared for the war and caused it to take place. 
It is this self-deception of England which ex- 
plains how God causes Gog to come up from the 
north parts upon the mountains of Israel. 

The reason why Gog shall succeed in reaching 
the mountains of Israel is explained by Ezekiel 
(39:23-24) : "And the heathen shall know that 
the house of Israel went into captivity for their 
iniquity: because they trespassed against me, 
therefore hid I my face from them, and gave 
them into the hand of their enemies : so fell they 
all by the sword. According to their uncleanli- 
ness and according to their transgressions have 
I done unto them, and hid my face from them." 
AVe have already stated that while the first part 
of the 23rd verse applies to the Jews, the second 
part refers also to Germany and Austria- 
Hungary. Just as the Jews proved faithless to 
the Lord, so Germany and Austria-Hungary have 
not prized the pearl of truth, but dug for them- 

86 



selves leaky wells which did not hold the water 
of life. For this reason God uses GrOg as the 
rod of punishment. Had they remained true to 
the Gospel, this tribulation would not have come. 
But foreknowing their iniquities the Lord 
warned them by the mouth of his prophets of the 
approaching judgment (Ezek. 38:17). Gog is 
the black cloud of God's wrath which is to cover 
Israel. There is a difference. God's wrath 
comes upon Israel as a punishment, but upon 
Gog for the purpose of destruction. This is in- 
dicated in these words (Ezek. 19:20) : ''In that 
day there shall be a great shaking in the land 
of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the 
fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, 
and all creeping things that creep upon the 
earth, and all the men that are upon the face of 
the earth, shall shake at my presence." The 
house of Israel shall shake because the face of 
the Lord is hid. Shaking is the result of fear 
and terror. Those that are in great danger 
shake and tremble. This Israel shall experience 
that it may discover how helpless it is without 
the aid of God. So great will be the wrath of 
the Lord that the fish of the sea, the birds of the 
air, and the beasts of the field shall shake. This 
shaking will be due to explosions on land and 
sea and in the air. Thus the prophet explains 
that whatever pertains to the war is a revelation 
of the wrath of God. 

The ultimate aim of such a manifestation of 
God's wrath is expressed (Ezek. 38:23) : "Thus 
I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself ; and 

87 



I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and 
they shall know that I am the Lord." Even the 
manifestation of God's wrath serves to magnify 
Him. By His judgment He reveals to all 
creatures in heaven and earth that He is holy, 
visiting the sins of men even upon those who 
bear His name. Israel of old experienced this, 
when the ten tribes were taken captive by 
Shalmaneser; Judah experienced it when led 
away by Nebuchadnezzar and the Israel of the 
New Testament shall also experience it in its 
struggle against Gog. Thus God is revealed to 
all the w^orld as a God who hateth iniquity and 
whose holiness is violated by the sins of men. 
If they persist in wrong doing, divine judgment 
will surely overtake them. While it is God's 
supreme purpose to win the human heart by 
manifestations of love. He does not hesitate to 
punish those who reject His grace. What Hosea 
says to the Jews, applies to all mankind: ''My 
people are destroyed, because thou hast forgotten 
the law of thy God." This is the great truth 
which is to be proclaimed to Jew, Gentile and 
Christian. Again and again it is emphasized in 
the two chapters of Ezekiel : "I will bring thee 
against my land that the heathen may loiow me, 
when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before 
their eyes" (38:16). Read also 39:6: "they 
that dwell carelessly among the isles shall know 
that I am the Lord." "And I will set my glory 
among the heathen, and all the heathen shall 
see my judgment that I have executed, and my 
hand that I have laid upon them. So the house 

88 



of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their 
God from that day and forward. And the 
heathen shall know that the house of Israel went 
into captivity for their iniquity: because they 
trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face 
from them, and gave them into the hands of their 
enemies : so fell they all by the sword. Accord- 
ing to their uncleamiess and according to their 
transgressions have I done unto them and hid 
my face from them." Those who are untrue to 
God, must suffer for their sins; those who rage 
against Him, shall be confounded. But in either 
case God will be glorified. 

But even when God glorifies Himself by pun- 
ishing or destroying those who are faithless and 
defiant, He is having in mind the salvation of 
men. IsTot only the faithless Jews and Christians 
but the heathen and the bands of Gog shall recog- 
nize the Lord and turn from their ways. But 
if they reject His help, they shall know that all 
their storming and raging cannot undo His will. 
In fact all their evil thoughts must serve to 
strengthen the children of Israel in their faith 
and to carry out in history the purposes of God. 
This is stated in the closing verses of the 39th 
chapter: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God: 
Now I will bring again the captivity of Jacob 
and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, 
and will be jealous for my holy name ; after that 
they have borne their shame, and all their tres- 
passes whereby they have trespassed against me, 
when they dwelled safely in their land and none 
made them afraid. When I have brought them 



again from tlie people, and gathered them out of 
their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them 
in the sight of many nations; then shall they 
know that I am the Lord, their God, which 
caused them to be led into captivity among the 
heathen : but I have gathered them unto their 
own land, and have left none of them any more 
there. Neither will I hide my face any more 
from them : for I have poured out my spirit upon 
the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." These 
verses have the following meaning: "God will 
have mercy on the whole unfaithful house of 
Israel after it has borne its shame. The house 
of Israel, however, are not the ten tribes that 
were led away, but as we have shown, all Chris- 
tians and Jews who have deserted the faith. 
Upon this unfaithful house of Israel the Lord 
will pour His spirit and will give them grace to 
repent. If they repent, He will bring again the 
captivity of Jacob. The dispersed tribes shall 
become a nation and repossess the land of their 
fathers. But also in the sight of the heathen 
God will be sanctified. This will take place 
when the heathen will find in Him the true God, 
in whom they believe and through whom they 
seek salvation. The whole house of Israel, com- 
prising the faithful among the Jews, heathen 
and Christians, shall thereafter dwell safely and 
without fear. Here the prophet clearly pre- 
dicts that after Gog's defeat the millennium 
will come, the time of which John speaks in 
Revelation as a period that will last a thousand 
years. Since the prophet mentions this as a 

90 



certain result of the present war, we should 
briefly answer the question: "What does the 
Bible teach concerning the millennium and the 
conversion of the Jews?" 

Ezekiel says that God will bring again the 
captivity of Jacob and will gather them all unto 
their own land. This will take place when He 
will pour His spirit upon them. The prophecy 
is borne out by many similar statements in both 
the New and the Old Testaments. 

But wherever such a gathering of the Jews 
in their own land is spoken of, the event is made 
dependent on their conversion. Since the old 
covenant has been superseded by the new, con- 
version means the acceptation by the Jews of 
the Gospel of Christ. If we are to prove, there- 
fore, that the Jews will return to Palestine, we 
must show first, that the Bible prophesies their 
conversion. 

In many passages of Scripture the conversion 
of the Jews, immediately preceding the end of 
the world, is clearly predicted. Ezekiel speaks 
of it in the 39th chapter and also in the 36th 
and 37th chapters : "Then I will sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all 
your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I 
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, 
and a new spirit will I put within you: and I 
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh 
and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will 
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes, and ye shall know my judgments 
and keep them" (Ezek. 36:25-27). That this 

91 



propliecy was still unfulfilled in tlie days of tlie 
apostles is clearly stated by Stephen: "ye stiff- 
necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye 
do always resist tlie Holy Ghost: as your 
fathers did, so do ye." Surely the following 
words of Ezekiel (37:23-26) are far from being 
fulfilled: "Neither shall they defile themselves 
any more with their idols, nor with their de- 
testable things, nor with any of their transgres- 
sions : but I will save them out of all their dwell- 
ing places, wherein they have sinned, and will 
cleanse them: so shall they be my people 
and I will be their God. And David, my servant 
shall be king over them ; and they all shall have 
one shepherd; they shall also walk in my judg- 
ments, and observe my statutes and do them. 
And they shall dwell in the land that I have 
given unto Jacob, my servant, wherein your 
fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell there- 
in, even they, and their children, and their 
children's children forever; and my servant 
David shall be their prince forever. Moreover 
I Avill make a covenant of peace with them; it 
shall be an everlasting covenant with them ; and 
I will place them, and multiply them, and will 
set my sanctuary in the midst of them for- 
ever." No one who still honors the Bible will 
dare to deny that these words refer to the con- 
version of the Jews. Even if we assume that 
the Canaan in which Israel and its children's 
children shall dwell "forever" refers to the 
heavenly Canaan, we cannot doubt that accord- 
ing to this prophecy the descendants of Jacob, 

92 



now scattered among tlie gentiles, shall be con- 
verted and acknowledge Jesus as their king. 
There is no doubt that Ezekiel foretells the con- 
version of the Jews. So does Moses. Read 
Deuteronomy 30:6-8: "And the Lord will cir- 
cumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, 
to love the Lord, thy God, with all thine heart, 
and with all thy soul that thou mayest live .... 
and thou shalt return and obey the voice of the 
Lord, and do all the commandments which I 
command thee this day." That Moses has in 
mind the future conversion of the Jews is made 
clear in the 4th verse : ''If any of thine be driven 
out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence 
will the Lord, thy God, gather thee, and from 
thence will He fetch thee." This refers to the 
present dispersion of the Jews, for their cap- 
tivity under Nebuchadnezzar was a diffusion 
less pronounced. Nor is there any doubt that 
Azariah (2 Chron. 15:3-6) prophesies of present 
conditions, when he says that the Jews in their 
trouble will turn to the Lord God of Israel. 
This conversion will follow a long season, when 
they were without law and without a teaching 
priest. Isaiah does not only say in many places 
that his peofjle, too, will belong to the spiritual 
Israel of the last days, but prophesies (Isa. 
10 :22-23 ) that the remnant of Jacob shall re- 
turn unto the mighty God. What Jeremiah pre- 
dicts of the Jews in the 30th and 31st chapters 
has not as yet been fulfilled. Therefore the con- 
version which is prophesied in the 31st chapter 
is also still in the future. He says : "Behold the 

93 



days come, saitli the Lord, tliat I will make a 
new covenant with the house of Israel and with 
the house of Judah; Not according to the 
covenant which I made with their fathers in the 
day that I took them by the hand to bring them 
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant 
they brake, although I was an husband unto 
them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the 
covenant that I will make with the house of 
Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will 
put my law in their inward parts and write it 
in their hearts, and will be their God and they 
shall be my people." Here the conversion of 
the Jews is as clearly stated as any other 
doctrine in the entire Bible. Hosea says that 
after the children of Israel have been many days 
without a king and without a prince, and with- 
out a sacrifice, and without an image, and with- 
out ephod, and without teraphim, afterwards 
they shall return and seek the Lord, their God 
and David (Christ) their king and that they 
shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the 
latter days ( Hosea 3 :4-5 ) . This seeking of the 
Lord has not taken place in the time of Christ 
because at that time the Jews still had a king, 
a sacrifice, an image and an ephod. Nor did it 
take place after the time of the apostles. The 
prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. 

It is certain beyond all doubt that the 
prophets of the Old Testament predicted the con- 
version of the Jews. But we might ask, whether 
or not there are passages in the Bible which con- 
tradict this prophecy. The answer is that there 

94 



is not a single verse in scripture wMcli teaches 
differently. Nor is it true that this doctrine 
clashes with the words of Christ or discredits 
the merit of the Savior, When Jesus says : 
''Henceforth ye shall not see me until ye shall 
say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord ( Matth. 23 :39 ) , He does not only not 
deny that the Jews will eventually be converted 
but confirms the prophecy that at last they shall 
bid Him welcome. The quotation from 1 Thess. 
2 :16 : "the wrath is come upon them to the 
uttermost," ("unto the end/' Luther) does not 
prove that the conversion of the Jews will never 
take place. Looking at this verse in the light 
of Luke 21 :24 and Dan. 9 :26 its meaning be- 
comes clear. Daniel says that the destroyed city 
of Jerusalem shall remain desolate unto the end 
of the war. If this were meant to convey that 
the Jews would never return to God, Daniel 
would contradict himself, for in the 12th chapter 
(1) he says distinctly "at that time (after the 
destruction of the unholy nation specified 
chapter 11:36-45) thy people shall be delivered." 
Again in the 7th verse he declares: "when He 
shall have accomplished to scatter the power of 
the holy people, all these things shall be 
finished." This means that the evil nation shall 
be crushed and Israel be delivered. But that 
this event will not coincide with the last judg- 
ment, he makes clear in the 11th verse where 
he specifies the time and also in the 12th verse 
where he calls those blessed who wait and come 
to the thousand three hundred and five and 

95 



thirtieth day. Since Daniel leaves no doubt 
that the Jews will be scattered until the end of 
the great conflict and afterwards gathered unto 
their land, we conclude that Paul, writing to 
the Thessalonians, merely stated that the wrath 
of God would be upon the Jews until the close 
of the present war. This is also announced by 
Christ (Luke 21:24) : "Jerusalem shall be trod- 
den down of the Gentiles, until the times of the 
Gentiles be fulfilled." The time of the Gentiles 
is fulfilled, when God, for the purpose of judg- 
ment, leads Gog to the mountains of Israel. 
Whatever other scriptural passages have been 
cited to disprove the conversion of the Jews, ex- 
plain themselves in the light of the very clear 
prophecies which we have mentioned. 

Even the much discussed words of Paul ( Rom. 
11 :25-27) are a very definite prophecy of Israel's 
salvation : "For I would not, brethren, that ye 
should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye 
should be wise in your own conceits ; that blind- 
ness in part is happened to Israel, until the 
fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all 
Israel shall be saved ; as it is written, there shall 
come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn 
away ungodliness from Jacob : For this is my 
covenant unto them, when I stall take away 
their sins." Here the apostle writes of a 
mystery, known already to Moses and the 
prophets, but which hitherto had never been 
solved for the Gentiles in Rome. In the Old 
Testament the Jews were the people of God, 
while the Gentiles were in ignorance and re- 

96 



fused to serve the true God. But in the New 
Testament the Jews largely lost the vision of 
truth, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come 
in. The Israel that is to be saved is composed 
of Jews and Gentiles alike. Here then we are 
confronted with the deep mystery of grace and 
have no right to speak of it more fully than is 
justified by the statements of the Bible. But 
certain it is that Paul warns the Christians who 
came from the Gentiles against the conclusion 
that henceforth the Jews are to be replaced by 
the Gentiles. True, the Jews were guilty of un- 
belief and have been struck with blindness, but 
the Gentiles, converted to Christ, must continue 
to work out their salvation with fear and 
trembling and also guard against self-confidence. 
God saves by faith both Jews and Gentiles. But 
because the Jews hardened their hearts, God 
permitted them to wander aw^ay. He called the 
Gentiles that He might still have a chosen 
people. The Gentiles filled the gap made by the 
desertion of Israel. Pleroma, translated full- 
ness, may also mean a piece of new cloth (Mark 
2 :21 ; Matth. 9 :16) or a patch. Just as a patch 
will cover a rent in a dress, so the gap caused 
by the unfaithfulness of the Jews was to be 
covered by the Gentiles. But this rent is not 
merely temporarily covered by the Gentiles ; the 
Gentiles do not merely fill the gap, until the 
Jews return, nor have the Jews been blinded 
that they should perish. By calling the Gentiles 
God would stir up the zeal of Israel. Read 
Rom. 10:19; also Deut. 32:21. Finally Paul 

97 



tells us (Rom. 9:28) that tlie Lord "will finish 
the work and cut it short in righteousness." 
This recalls the words of Isaiah ( 10 :22-23 ) : 
"For though thy people Israel be as the sand 
of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return : 
the consumption decreed shall overflow with 
righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts shall 
make a consumption, even determined, in the 
midst of all the land." The meaning of these 
words appears more clearly in Luther's version 
"The Lord Himself will curb corruption and 
righteousness shall overflow." This corruption 
is caused not only by the unholy nation, but by 
the Jews. Says Zechariah (8:13): "And it 
shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse 
among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house 
of Israel, so will I save you and ye shall be 
a blessing." In what the curbing of this cor- 
ruption consists is indicated very fully in the 
38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel. Through 
the downfall of Gog God will finish the work 
and cut it short in righteousness. This mani- 
festation of the presence of the living God will 
cause the spiritual Israel, composed of Jews, 
Gentiles and Christians alike to return to the 
abandoned altars and to seek repentance. Says 
Isaiah ( 59 ) : "For He put on righteousness as a 
breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his 
head ; and He put on the garments of vengeance 
for clothing, and was clothed with zeal as a 
cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly 
He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recom- 
pense to His enemies ; to the islands of Gog ( or 

98 



England) He will repay recompense. So shall 
they fear the name of the Lord from the west, 
and His glory from the rising of the sun. When 
the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit 
of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. 
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto 
them that turn from transgression in Jacob, 
saith the Lord; As for me this is my covenant 
with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is 
upon thee, and my words which I have put in 
thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord from 
henceforth and forever" (17:21). To this 
prophecy Paul refers in the 26th verse. We con- 
clude that he meant to predict the final conver- 
sion of the Jews. 

After thus proving the conversion of Israel, 
it seems superfluous to show" that the Jews will 
return to the land of their fathers. Suffice it 
to call attention to the main prophecies along 
this line and to correct some erroneous impres- 
sions. 

We have repeatedly stated that the Jews can 
only after their conversion return into the land 
of their fathers. One event depends on the 
other. Ezekiel says that if they will know the 
true God (after Gog's defeat) the captivity of 
Jacob shall end. Moses writes in the name of 
Jehovah : If they will humble themselves ^'then 
will I remember the covenant with Jacob, and al- 
so my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant 
with Abraham will I remember; and I will re- 

99 



member the land. The land also shall be left 
of them, and shall enjoy her Sabbaths, while she 
lieth desolate without them; and they shall 
accept of the punishment of their iniquity; be- 
cause, even because they despised my judgments, 
and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 
And yet for all that, when they be in the land 
of their enemies, I will not cast them away, 
neither will I abhor them, to destroy them 
utterly, and to break my covenant with them; 
for I am the Lord their God. But I will for 
their sakes remember the covenant of their an- 
cestors whom I brought forth out of the land 
of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might 
be their God; I am the Lord" (Lev. 26:42-45). 
"And it shall come to pass, when all these things 
are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, 
which I have set before thee, thou shalt call 
them to mind among all the nations, whither 
the Lord, thy God hath driven thee, and shalt 
return unto the Lord, thy God, and shalt obey 
His voice according to all that I command thee 
this day, thou and thy children, with all thine 
heart and with all thy soul ; That then the Lord, 
thy God, will turn thy captivity, and have com- 
passion upon thee, and will return and gather 
thee from all the nations, whither the Lord, 
thy God, has scattered thee. If any of thine be 
driven out into the utmost parts of heaven, from 
thence will the Lord, thy God, gather thee and 
from thence will He fetch thee; And the Lord, 
thy God, will bring thee into the land which thy 
fathers possessed and thou shalt possess it ; and 

100 



He will do thee good, and multiply thee above 
thy fathers" (Deut. 30 :l-5) . Another prophecy, 
still unfulfilled, we find in Jeremiah (31:8-10) : 
"Behold, I will bring them from the north 
country, and gather them from the coasts of the 
earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the 
woman with child and her that travaileth with 
child together: a great company shall return 
thither. They shall come with weeping, and 
with supplications will I lead them : I will cause 
them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight 
way, wherein they shall not stumble ; for I am a 
father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. 
Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations and de- 
clare it in the isles (in Gog's own country) afar 
off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather 
him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock." 
The book of Amos closes with the prophecy 
(9 :14-15) that in the latter years the Jews shall 
repossess the land of their fathers : "And I will 
bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, 
and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit 
them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink 
the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, 
and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant 
them upon their land, and they shall no more be 
pulled up out of their land which I have given 
them, saith the Lord, thy God." Of this same 
time we read in the 8th chapter of Zechariah 
(6-8) : "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be 
marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of His 
people in these days, should it also be marvelous 
in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. Thus 

101 



saith the Lord of hosts : Behold I will save my 
people from the east country, and from the west 
country. And I will bring them, and they shall 
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall 
be my people, and I will be their God, in truth 
and righteousness." Christ says that the house 
of the Jews shall remain desolate only as long 
as they persist in their unbelief (Matth. 
23:38-39; Luke 21:24). Daniel does not only 
prophesy that the dispersion of the Jews shall 
have an end (12:7) but specifies the time when 
the reunion shall take place ( 12 :11 ) : ''And from 
the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken 
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate 
set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred 
and ninety days." The daily sacrifice was 
taken away after the destruction of Jerusalem 
and its temple. The abomination set up refers 
to a Mohamedan mosque erected in place of 
Solomon's temple by Omar I. and his successors. 
According to history this happened between the 
years 635 and 640. The return of the Jews to 
Palestine is to take place 1290 years after this 
event. Since we have no accurate date as to 
the building of this mosque, we cannot state with 
accuracy, when Israel shall be gathered in Pales- 
tine. Should the Bible calculate according to 
solar years, the prophecy would be fulfilled in 
1925. But comparing Daniel 7:25; 12:7 with 
Rev. 12 :14 ; 13 :5 and also 11 :3 ; 12 :6, we incline 
to the belief that we are to deal with lunar years 
which comprise but 360 days each. This would 
make a difference of 17 years and 11 months. 

102 



According to that the time is now ripe for ful- 
fillment and we might look for Israel's return 
immediately after the end of the present war. 

To guard against error, it is necessary to 
differentiate between the time specified in Daniel 
12 :11, and that referred to in Daniel 7 :25 ; 12 :7, 
and Revelation 12 :14. In the one case we deal 
with the era of the seven-headed beast upon the 
earth, in the other with the time of its destruc- 
tion and the gathering of the Jews. 

The 12th verse of the 12th chapter of Daniel 
specifies also that the prophecy shall be fulfilled 
45 years after the Jews have taken possession 
of the land: "Blessed is he that waiteth and 
Cometh to the thousand three hundred and five 
and thirty days." Whether the special bless- 
ings conferred upon Israel at that time be of a 
material or spiritual nature, we do not venture 
to say. Suffice it to know that, while these 
promises like those in verses 1 and 7 are meant 
for the Jews, they can in no way exceed the glory 
of the Christian faith. 

Erroneous is the opinion, based on Rom. 11, 
that the rejection of the Gentiles will precede 
the conversion of the Jews. Contrariwise it is 
the will of Cod that both Jew and Gentile shall 
accept the truth. But it is not only possible, but 
Ave have scriptural ground for the belief, that 
many of Gog's army, when struck by the light- 
nings of judgment, will harden their hearts: 
"They blasphemed the God of heaven, because 
of their pains and their sores and repented not" 
(Rev. 16) ; only a part of the dead shall rise 
( Rev. 20:5). This refers to spiritual death. Of 

103 



the unfaithful some will be converted through 
God's unmerited grace, but others will grow re- 
bellious and defy His judgments. 

Erroneous, too, is the opinion that the Jews, 
when converted, will live in Palestine and rule 
over the Gentiles. Whatever the Bible seems to 
indicate along this line, pertains to the spiritual 
Israel, to the rule of the Gospel during the 
millennium. The kingdom of Christ is not of 
this world, but a spiritual kingdom and whoever 
desires to be greatest in this kingdom must be 
as he that serves. Should, therefore, the Jews 
occupy a prominent position in this kingdom, 
they will manifest their prominence by render- 
ing service. This might be gathered from Zech. 
8 :13 : "It shall come to pass that as ye were a 
curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and 
house of Israel; so will I save you and ye shall 
be a blessing." It is naught but an empty 
phrase to assert that the Jews have never been 
a missionary people and never will be. On the 
contrary, it is quite probable, that the Jews after 
they have recognized their sins and have been 
led by grace to know their Savior, will, in 
gratitude, be thrilled with missionary zeal. 

Equally foolish is the statement that since 
Christ came to bring spiritual treasures, such a 
purely material benefit as the restoration of 
Palestine could be no part of His mission. True 
it is, that if Jesus had naught but earthly gifts, 
He would not have dwelt among us. But He 
says : "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all 
these things shall be added unto you." This 
promise includes all kinds of possessions, and 

104 



among these a liome for the Jews. If God will 
freely bestow the grandest blessings and open 
the eyes of the Jews that they shall know Him 
and His Son, Jesns Christ, will He refuse the 
lesser gifts, such as the reunion of His people 
in Palestine? Whenever the Jews will first 
seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
they shall also possess the land of their fathers. 
This is scriptural teaching. 

Let no one pass lightly over these gracious 
promises. Let us remember the warnings 
uttered against those who assert that the Jews 
are a race without hope. The same curse that 
applies to the Jews is to strike terror into the 
hearts of those who hate and persecute this 
hapless people (Deut. 30 :7) . Ezekiel denounces 
those who deny that the Jews will rise again: 
"Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy 
hath said against you. Aha, even the ancient high 
places are ours in possession : Therefore prophesy 
and say. Thus saith the Lord God, because they 
have made you desolate, and swallowed you up 
on every side, that ye might be a possession unto 
the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up 
in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the 
people; Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear 
the word of the Lord : Thus saith the Lord God 
to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, 
and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to 
the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey 
and derision to the residue of the heathen that 
are round about. Therefore thus saith the Lord : 
Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken 

105 



against the residue of the heathen, and against 
all Iduniea, which have appointed my land into 
their possession with the joy of all their heart, 
with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 
Prophesy therefore concerning the land of 
Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the 
hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys. Thus 
saith the Lord: Behold, I have spoken in my 
jealousy and in inj fury, because ye have borne 
the shame of the heathen. Therefore thus saith 
the Lord God ; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely 
the heathen that are about you, they shall bear 
their shame" (Ezek. 36:2-7). These words are 
directed against the heathen. But surely they 
also apply to those who refuse to believe in the 
conversion and reunion of the Jews and who 
rejoice in the suffering of Israel. 

Finally a word concerning the statement of 
Ezekiel (39:28) : ''I have gathered them unto 
their own land and have left none of them any 
more there." Starke declares that since this 
prophecy has not been fulfilled at the departure 
of the Jews from Babylon, its consummation is 
still to be expected. He infers that all Jews 
without a single exception will be finally saved. 
However this is incorrect. We must consider 
the preceding verses which tell us that on ac- 
count of their transgressions the Lord led Israel 
into captivity. Against their will the Jews 
went into captivity; against their will large 
numbers of them dwell among nations who rob, 
curse and persecute them. They are scattered 
in many countries. Those living in Palestine 

106 



liave to bow to a heatlien government and are 
surrounded by a strange people. This punish- 
ment shall cease. They shall be reunited and 
have a native land. Against his will not one 
of them shall remain among those who hate 
Israel. But this does not mean that God will 
force the Jews to go to Palestine. Even in the 
days of the Judges, when Israel was theocratic, 
there were Hebrews among the Gentiles. 
Palestine is promised to the Jews because this 
land was God's gift to their fathers, their native 
land. It will be restored to them not for the 
purpose of establishing a limited theocracy. It 
is God's will that they shall have a home. That 
Jews may continue to live among Gentiles, 
especially when all are united in the thought of 
the universal and spiritual Israel, is very 
evident. And if according to Zechariah the 
house of Judah is to become a blessing to the 
heathen, it is to be hoped that some will remain 
where they are. 

Whether or not every Jew will be converted 
is a question which we have no authority, either 
to affirm or to deny. The Bible is silent on the 
subject. According to scripture there will be 
a general conversion of Jews during the latter 
years and Paul says that the spiritual Israel, 
composed of Jew and Gentile, is to be saved. 
We want to be sure only of two things. In the 
first place that we belong to the spiritual Israel, 
and in the second place that we draw as many 
as possible into this blessed fellowship. 

As a result of Gog's defeat there is to come 

107 



a blessed time, not only for the Jews, but for 
tbe spiritual Israel : ^'Now will I have mercy 
upon the whole house of Israel" ( Ezek. 39 :25 ) . 
''And I will set my glory among the heathen, 
and all the heathen shall see my judgment, that 
I have executed, and my hand that I have laid 
upon them. So the house of Israel shall know 
that I am the Lord their God from that day and 
forward" ( 39 :21-22 ) . "When they dwell safely in 
the land and none makes them afraid .... 
neither will I hide my face any more from them : 
for I have poured my spirit upon the house of 
Israel, saith the Lord God" (39:26-29). The 
blessed era which the prophet predicts for the 
Church of Christ after the destruction of Gog 
and his bands is merely suggested in these verses. 
It is fully described in the succeeding chapters 
(40-48). This splendid imagery must not be 
limited to a material temple. Nor does it apply 
to the saints in heaven. It portrays the Church 
of the last time. While we do not vdsh to enter 
into any detailed explanation of the meaning 
of this prophecy, we should say a word con- 
cerning the period, commonly called the mil- 
lennium, to which Ezekiel refers in the 39th 
chapter and of which John says that it will 
last a thousand years. 

In the first place we are told that the mil- 
lennium shall begin with the destruction of 
Gog. The defeat of ungodly nations and the 
manifestation of the strong arm of God will 
help Israel to find the Lord. Thus some will 
rise who have been spiritually dead. God will 

108 



cause His breath to enter into the dry bones 
(Ezek. 37) and these bones will live. This 
according to John is the first resurrection, 
purely spiritual. For only he is holy and saved 
who rises spiritually by faith ( Col. 2 :12-13 ) . 
The Bible says nothing regarding a physical 
resurrection before the last judgment. If re- 
ports can be trusted, Germany has already ex- 
perienced this first resurrection, many dead 
souls having come to life. But the return to 
God shall reach further and include many Jews 
and Gentiles. God will reveal His glory to the 
heathen, says Ezekiel; they too shall know the 
Lord, believe in Him and be saved by faith. 
However not all will bow to God's gracious de- 
signs. While they must recognize without ex- 
ception His power and majesty, some will refuse 
to repent. "Many shall be purified and made 
white and tried; but the wicked shall do 
wickedly: and none of the wicked shall under- 
stand, but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 
12 :10 ) . John, too, in Revelation declares that 
but a part of the people shall rise from the dead 
(20:4-5). 

Even during the millennium there will be 
wicked people on earth. That Satan is bound, 
does not mean that he has lost all power. Not 
only the ungodly, but even the saints will ex- 
perience temptations. But since God has 
poured His blessings upon His people, they will 
have the strength to withstand the fiery darts 
of the devil. They will more clearly discern the 
loving face of the Lord and bear testimony to 

109 



the fact that He is a very present help in trouble. 
They will dwell safely among their enemies and 
none shall make them afraid. 

The millennium is a period of universal peace. 
Warfare Avill become a lost art and swords shall 
be turned into plowshares ( Isa. 2 :4 ) . That 
Satan is chained signifies that he is no longer 
to rule through ungodly nations. For more 
than a thousand years he has dominated the 
world through the English kings. He has cor- 
rupted the Church and degraded the heathen. 
But after the British empire has been crushed 
in the present war, the devil will be without his 
mightiest weapon. He will be bound for a 
thousand years. As Satan ruled through un- 
godly principalities, so Christ will rule through 
Christian nations. The Bible says nothing con- 
cerning a visible throne of Christ. The very 
thought is incompatible with the nature of God's 
kingdom. Christ's throne is in the hearts of the 
faithful. Through earthly kingdoms He will reign 
and protect His own. They shall dwell safely 
among their enemies. This is the scriptural 
meaning of the reign of Christ and His saints. 

To sum up : The Lord God of Sabaoth, it is 
He who crushes the forces of evil that righteous- 
ness may overflow His people. By powerfully 
interfering with the plans of Satan, He mani- 
fests His glory to Jew and Gentile. He reveals 
Himself as a holy God and a just one who hateth 
iniquity, punishes the sinner and whose wrath is 
flaming over those who will not repent. The 
anti-Christian empires He will utterly destroy, 

110 



and Israel that lias grown lukewarm must also 
bear its shame. Through these visitations God's 
name will be sanctified and magnified. Those 
who will not hear His voice, must perish. But 
it is God's purpose that they shall turn from 
their ways and live. Gracious are the plans of 
the Lord! He is ever willing to receive those 
who repent in every nation on the face of the 
earth, be they Turks, heathen or subjects of Gog. 
It is unbelief only and an unrepenting heart that 
separates man from his Maker, Oh, that all the 
world would see in the afftictions of these days 
the mighty hand of God! 

We know that Emperor William II. regards 
the crown of Germany as a divine trust. Surely 
Germany ought to thank God for such a ruler! 
She owes a great deal not only to the builder of 
empire, but still more to him who leads her in 
prayer ; she owes much to her Christian empress. 
If mighty princes bend their knee in prayer, 
God is well pleased, and He may bless a whole 
nation on account of such prayers. But we can- 
not be saved by the religion of an emperor or any 
other human being. The just shall live by faith. 
It is of little value to conquer Gog, if there is no 
conquest of sin in the soul. May God's spiritual 
purposes be revealed to all! Those who would 
boast of pure doctrines and saintly lives, better 
beware of self-deception. Revelation says that 
the beast has even corrupted the saints. If our 
own country is not being punished after the 
manner of Germany or Austria, may this be a 
sign of God's favor and not of His displeasure. 

Ill 



POSTSCRIPT 

When the bulk of this manuscript was already 
in the hands of the printer, ''Der Lutheraner" 
published an article on ''Russelism" containing 
an expression of Russell, and the Chicago Herald 
an interview with the British Chancellor, Lord 
Haldane. Since both statements concur and 
since we have alluded in these pages to the com- 
plete understanding between Russell and the 
British government, we quote from both articles. 
Russell publishes the following statement in the 
Bible Students' Monthly (VI, 5). 

"For 2,500 years God, through the Bible 
prophets, has been telling His people about this 
great war and concerning the more terrible Ar- 
mageddon which will follow it; and can we ex- 
pect Him to reverse the program at our behest? 

The war will proceed and will eventuate in 
no glorious for any nation, but in the horrible 
mutilation and impoverishment of all. Next 
will follow the Armageddon of anarchy. For 
forty years I have been proclaiming this very 
war and its glorious outcome by sermons, oral 
and printed, and in my books on Bible study in 
twenty languages. Now, when the very year 
has come and the prophecy is being fulfilled, 
could I consistently ask the Almighty to change 
his program? Nay! 

112 



Apparently all the nations will yet be in- 
volved. Our President and our Secretary of 
State are men of peace, and will surely do all in 
tkeir power to avoid complications and war 
itself. ( TMs is not true. President Wilson lias 
done everything that he possibly could do to in- 
volve our country in a war against Germany and 
has most probably received his inspiration from 
the same source where the prophecies of the false 
prophet Kussell originate — London.) Never- 
theless, the great nations of Europe, realizing 
how much they will be weakened by this war, 
will do all in their power to ensnare these United 
States, lest at the conclusion of the war we 
should tower above the others financially and 
otherwise. 

When the war is ended, these nations, sorrow- 
ful and famine-stricken, will be greatly angered 
at their rulers. Then will come the determin- 
ation for something like Socialism. This the 
governments will endeavor to put down, and to 
some extent they will succeed. Then will follow 
the great explosion — the Armageddon of the 
Scriptures. Then will be the Time of Trouble, 
immediately preceding the Messianic Kingdom, 
which will inaugurate the long-promised Peace 
on Earth." 

We repeat that w^henever Russell speaks of 
the Messianic kingdom, he thinks of England 
ruling the world. He argues that after Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary, Russia, France and 
other nations have been impoverished and be- 
come financially dependent on England, their 

113 



own people will rise in a revolution, tkus offer- 
ing England a chance to conquer them all. The 
same hope was expressed by Lord Haldane in 
the Chicago Herald (March 7), although the 
British diplomat speaks with greater discretion. 
Here is the interview : "Assuming that the allies 
win, will they attempt to democratize German 
politics?" 

"Government comes from within. If the army 
and the navy and the men who made the war 
lose their prestige, Germany probably will re- 
cover herself. How can she better do it than 
by effectualizing her democracy? 

"In other words I feel that the real Germany 
which has made so profound an impression upon 
the world by reason of great qualities, will take 
over the government of Germany when the 
present regime has been discredited or des- 
troyed." 

"Then you are looking for a great democratic 
advance as the result of the war?" 

"For a great democratic advance and for a 
great moral advance. Might has sought to es- 
tablish itself as the supreme law. Eight is on 
the defensive." 

This effusion from the lips of Lord Haldane 
is no doubt meant to poison public opinion in 
Germany and Austria against the government. 
(A very interesting article along this line was 
published by the "Abendschule," St. Louis, Mo., 
March 4, 1915, p. 495). Lord Haldane would 
stir up trouble in the lands of England's op- 
ponents. He knows that an inner disruption 

114 



would greatly impair Teutonic strength. Should 
the people of Germany and Austria listen to 
the siren-voice which urges them to become 
Kepublics, it will be but a short time when 
England will dominate them both. Since 
Eussel and the English chancellor have the same 
idea on this subject, we cannot doubt that Eussel 
is the hired prophet of the British government. 
The plans of England are cleverly thought out. 
But those who know good from evil and have 
not bent their knee to Baal will cry to God and 
pray : Lord God Almighty, pronounce judgment 
on England ! Suffer not this war to end before 
the British empire has been utterly crushed ! It 
has corrupted Thy Church and undermined its 
usefulness! Destroy those, O Lord, who have 
grown fat through the sweat of the poor and 
oppressed! Remember their robberies, their in- 
numerable crimes! Just as they brought dead 
men's bones from Egypt to fertilize with the 
dust of Egyptian kings their hills and valleys, 
so scatter Thou to the four winds their unhal- 
lowed ashes! Thou, Lord, alone canst judge! 
Fulfill the prophecy which Thou hast spoken in 
Thy sacred word and we shall praise Thee for 
Thy Justice and Truth, world without end! 
Amen. For Thy Truth's sake, hear us, good 
Lord ! Amen ! 



115 



